Interesting Revelations
by Kristin4
Summary: New summary A man attacked Max on the side of the road, now he is playing a deadly game. Can Max and Kenny catch him and find love in process? Or will something terrible keep them apart forever?
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1  
  
Maxine looked up from her desk as she watched Kenny flirt with the woman he was supposed to be taking a report from. Frowning she got up and slowly walked over there to remind Kenny that he was in a work place. She noticed Kenny glancing at her and so she decided to let him dig his own hole with Jimmy. She made a quick turn and headed to the coffee room to get herself something to drink.  
  
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Kenny watched Max go into the coffee room and slowly cursed her under his breath. He turned back to the woman in front of him, that he had absolutely no interest in but Max didn't need to know that. He smiled at her as he listened to her give her side of the story, but it was clear that she was intoxicated and so if this had happened at all it would be partially her fault for the alcohol in her system.  
  
"So anyway he turned around and just plowed his car right into mine." The woman said as she giggled at the slurred words she had used.  
  
"Ma'am how much have you had to drink?" Kenny asked her with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Enough." The woman said with a shrug. "Why do you wanna go and have a drink with me officer?"  
  
"It's Deputy and no I don't plan on it." Kenny said shaking his head. He looked up as Max's new boyfriend walked into the station and Kenny bit his bottom lip to keep from insulting the way he was dressed. The man was wearing a Hawaiian style shirt and a pair of Khaki shorts. Kenny rolled his eyes as he walked towards the coffee room as if he owned the place.  
  
Kenny finished up with the woman and returned to his desk, although his gaze kept drifting to the coffee room where Max was with Derek.  
  
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Max glanced at her boyfriend and shook her head no as he continued on his tirade.  
  
"Look just run home, pack your bags and let's get out of here." He said with a sigh as he looked at her clean uniform.  
  
"I told you that I am not going with you. I have to work and you can't just expect me to drop everything because you want to go out and have some fun." Max said shaking her head.  
  
"You don't even need this job and you know it. If you would just marry me you could quit and just stay home and relax. I have plenty of money and you could just be a housewife." He said with a soft smile as he grabbed onto her arms.  
  
"Let go of me. You know that I love my job and it's not about money. Frankly if that's the way you feel than maybe you should just leave. I think that we're over with." Max said as she shrugged away from him and turned her back to him.  
  
"Fine." Derek said as he left, slamming the door behind him.  
  
*********** ********* ********** *********** ********* ********  
  
Max glanced at the clock and noticed that she was now off duty, which was a good thing because all she wanted was some chocolate chip cookies and a cold beer to contemplate over yet another failed relationship. Sighing she walked out of the room and walked over to her desk to grab her jacket.  
  
"Problems?" Kenny asked he saw her slamming things around.  
  
"I just broke up with Derek. What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I find the right guy for me?" Max asked frustrated as she sat down at her desk. "You know what that's it, I am through with relationships for good. I am just going to stay home for the rest of my life and not go out on any dates. It's obvious that I am horrible at relationships."  
  
"Max you can't seriously mean that." Kenny said shaking his head.  
  
"And what if I do?" Max asked with an arched eyebrow. "It shouldn't matter to you what I do with my personal life."  
  
"We're partners. If something is going to affect your work then it matters to me." Kenny said hurriedly making an excuse.  
  
"Shove it Kenny." Max said jumping to her feet as she left the station in a hurry.  
  
******* ********* ********* ********** ***********  
  
Kenny shook his head as he watched her go; he had a feeling Max was struggling to figure some things out in her life, though she would never admit to that. Sighing he got to his feet and gathered his stuff as he prepared to leave the station as well. He was really going to have to convince Max that she was not terrible at relationships just terrible at picking the guys to have relationships with.  
  
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Max stopped behind the broken down vehicle with a frown on her face. She could tell that there was something weird about this guy who was sitting on the hood of his car but she shrugged it off to be paranoid. Sighing she walked over to where he was sitting and stood in front of him, in her Rome Sheriff's Department uniform.  
  
"Can I help you out sir?" She asked him with a smile.  
  
"Maybe. My car broke down and I can't seem to get anyone to help me out." The man said with a crooked smile.  
  
Max frowned, not liking the way this guy was looking at her. She nodded her head and pulled out her cell phone, intent on calling someone to come and help him. She was about to finish dialing when she saw the guy frowning and then out of nowhere tackle her to the ground.  
  
His hands were around her throat before she had time to react and he lifted her head off the ground and slammed into the cement road underneath her. Max was dazed and confused and unsure what to do at that point considering she was so out of it and couldn't fight back anymore. She felt him rip open her shirt and she struggled to stay conscious, the last thing she saw before and felt before she blacked out was him biting her neck.  
  
Kenny sped up as he saw some guy on top of Max on the side of the road. He saw the guy look up at him and then down at Max who wasn't moving. Shaking his head the guy jumped in his car and sped off. Kenny was torn on what to do but decided that Max needed him more and so he grabbed his cell phone and called it in as well as the license plate. He stopped his car and jumped out, he ran until he was beside Max and knelt beside her. He took one look at her battered body and the bite mark on her neck and shook his head.  
  
"My God." He whispered shocked at what he saw. He had a feeling that whatever had just happened was only the beginning. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Kenny sighed as he saw Jimmy walk into the hospital room. He glanced from Max to Kenny's bloodstained uniform.  
  
"All right so do you want to tell me what happened out there?" Jimmy asked softly, unsure on what had happened out there.  
  
"I don't know myself." Kenny said shaking his head. "When I drove up Max was on the ground and out cold."  
  
"We found the suspect vehicle abandoned with a bunch of makeup wiped off inside. I think what you saw was a disguise." Jimmy said softly.  
  
"So now we don't have any leads?" Kenny asked frustrated.  
  
"Well yes we do. The bite mark on Max's neck matches ones from different murder scenes." Jimmy said sighing.  
  
"Murder scenes?" Kenny asked as he glanced at Max's unconscious form. "This guy was going to kill her?"  
  
"Looks that way. The thing is Kenny we have no suspects or places to look." Jimmy said as he took a seat next to his Deputy. "I'm worried that he is going to come back and try to finish the job."  
  
"Max won't let you put a guard on her and you know it." Kenny said shaking his head. "She is way to stubborn for that."  
  
"I know, which is why you are going to step in and find a way to convince her. You're going to be looking out for Max. Now we have packed a couple of Max's bags and put them in your apartment for when she is released. The thing we are going to say is that when Jill went to pack a bag to bring to the hospital for when she is released she saw that the place was infested and you are volunteering to have her stay with you." Jimmy said with a proud smile.  
  
"You have this whole thing worked out in your head now don't you?" Kenny asked with a sigh. "What if Max wants to stay in a hotel rather then with me?"  
  
"There are no vacancies anywhere." Jimmy said shaking his head.  
  
"Well then I guess we know where Max will be the next few days." Kenny said glancing towards the hospital bed. "Jill say anything about when she would wake up or when she would be released?"  
  
"No nothing." Jimmy said shaking his head no. "We just have to wait and let nature take it's course."  
  
******** ********* ********* ******** ********* *******  
  
He frowned as he watched the young woman dance on the stage. Didn't she know that what she was doing was completely wrong? Sighing he waited until her set was done before he walked backstage and over to where she was. It was easy to get passed the security they had set up in this place it was so lax. Grinning he walked over to where she was sitting topless in front of the mirror by herself.  
  
"Hello their ma'am." He said smoothly.  
  
"I'm sorry do I know you?" She asked timidly.  
  
"I'm the owner of this place." He said making up a lie. "Your performance was satisfactory." He said simply knowing that it would make her panic.  
  
"Just satisfactory sir?" She asked biting her lower lip. "What could I do to improve it for you?"  
  
"Well I don't know that yet. Just get dressed and we'll see what we can come up with for you." He said with a gentle smile that always disarmed his victims.  
  
"All right sir." The woman said nodding her head.  
  
******* ******** ******** ******** ******** *********  
  
Maxine woke up with a splitting headache and a groan as the light penetrated her foggy brain. Looking around she saw that Kenny was fast asleep in a bloody uniform shirt and an uncomfortable chair. Smiling she looked at his sleeping form and shook her head, then winced when the pain sliced through her.  
  
"Max." Kenny said coming awake and looking at her.  
  
"Hey you should head home and get some sleep." Max said as she looked him over.  
  
"I wanted to tell you that you're staying with me when you get out of the hospital." Kenny said crossing his arms in front of him, preparing himself for a battle.  
  
"I don't want to interfere with your life." Max said shaking her head.  
  
"You won't be interfering in anything Max." Kenny said shaking his head at her. "Besides you don't much of a choice."  
  
"Excuse me what does that mean?" Max asked him with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Just that I already moved your stuff to my place because we found a bunch of roaches in yours. It's going to be fumigated and that means you have no place to be." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"Fine whatever." Max said tired and just wanting to get rid of her headache.  
  
"Now I need to go and find a doctor to tell them that you're awake." Kenny said slowly getting to his feet.  
  
****** ******** ******** ******** ******** ***********  
  
Jimmy looked at the body lying in the middle of the road, as if she were just thrown there. There was no ID on the body and she was completely nude. There was the similar bite mark on her neck, the same on the others and Maxine. Jimmy shook his head as his Deputies looked around the crime scene for something to hint about this guy but there was nothing but some stage makeup lying there.  
  
"Sheriff this is big." Carter said as he walked over to him. "This guy is only going to get worse as time goes by. There is absolutely no way you will be able to handle him and you know it. If I were you I would call in the FBI or deputize me."  
  
"Carter just let me know what you find on the body." Jimmy said shaking head no as he walked away from the area where the body was lying.  
  
****** ******* ****** ******* ******* *********  
  
He watched them around his new masterpiece and laughed softly to himself. The idiots had no clue that he was right there, right within their reach. He wouldn't tell them either because as long as they were unaware of his game then he could win all the time. He shook his head as he watched the frustrated look on the Sheriff's face as he climbed back into his patrol car. It was going to be another long day for him and he would continuously worry about Deputy Stewart. Oh yes he knew her name now, had found out from the paper's, and now she would pay for getting away. He didn't like it when things didn't go the way he planned them to and that made Deputy Lacos a new pawn in his game.  
  
****** ******* ******* ******** ******* ********  
  
Max was released from the hospital two days after she woke up. She had no serious injury and would be allowed to return to work within the week, but only desk duty. Max grumbled as she sat on the couch in Kenny's apartment and silently waited for him to get home from work. He was upset that she had made him go but there was no use both of them sitting around doing nothing all day. Sighing she got to her feet and looked inside the fridge to see what was in there. Nothing really as she noticed and she decided to surprise Kenny by going grocery shopping for him. Smiling because she now had something to do, Max grabbed her coat and purse and headed towards the door, intent on leaving and finding something interesting to have for dinner.  
  
***** ******** ******* ******* ******* ********  
  
He watched her leave the apartment and smirked. This could be easier than he thought. He followed her to the grocery store and waited out in his car. Oh yeah this was going to be so easy. 


	3. chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Kenny arrived back at his apartment with some old reports that he needed to look over. Everyone was sure that this guy had killed before and now it was matter of finding how many victims he really had.  
  
"Max where are you?" Kenny asked frowning when he couldn't see her in the apartment.  
  
Kenny looked at the kitchen counter as he set all the reports down and noticed the note sitting there waiting for him. He read over it and shook his head with a major frown. "Son of a bitch." He cursed as he ran out of the apartment and headed to the nearest grocery store, hoping she was there.  
  
*** ********* ********** ********** ********* ********* *****  
  
He was waiting for his chance as he sat in his car outside of the store. He glanced up when he heard something screech and saw Deputy Lacos jump out of his vehicle.  
  
"Dammit why does he always have to interfere?" He muttered as he saw Deputy Stewart exit the store and walk straight into Deputy Lacos. "Until we meet again." He muttered as he started his car and drove away,  
  
******* ******** ******** ******** ******* ********  
  
To say she was shocked to see Kenny standing in front of her would be down playing what she was feeling. She gulped when she saw the anger and worry flashing from Kenny's eyes. She took a step back away from him and bit her bottom lip nervously. She wasn't one to back down from a fight easily but at the way Kenny was looking she didn't think she had much of a choice. She glanced from her right to her left to make sure no one was standing there and ready to listen to their conversation because she was sure that Kenny was going to let her have it. Although she had no clue what she did wrong, she was already starting to feel guilty.  
  
"What's wrong?" Max asked a little unnerved by the look in his eyes.  
  
"What's wrong? What in the hell are you doing out of the apartment?" Kenny shouted at her as if he didn't know.  
  
"The same thing my note explained I was going to do." Max said sarcastically.  
  
"You know you're not supposed to leave the apartment without someone else going with you! What if this guy had seen you and tried to hurt you in any way?" Kenny asked still shouting at her.  
  
Max looked at him, her eyes flashing deadly warning signs that Kenny just kept ignoring. As she listened to his tirade she ignored every word he said struggling with the urge to smack him across his face. She struggled against the rising anger that threatened to take over everything inside of her and closed her eyes. She listened as Kenny's raised voice continued to berate her and then she snapped. She opened her eyes and glared into his before raising her hand and smacking him hard across his cheek. She was shocked as she felt the impact of her hand on his cheek and then she was satisfied. She walked away from where he was standing; shocked at what had just happened and got into the car she was driving and left.  
  
******** ******** ********** ********** ***********  
  
Kenny stood rooted to the spot in front of the grocery store, shocked at what had just happened. Had Max really just smacked him across the face? Kenny turned around and climbed back into his vehicle, it looked like he and Max were going to have along discussion when he got back to the apartment.  
  
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Max heard the apartment door open and took a deep breath. She knew that she and Kenny were about to have a very long and drawn out discussion. Sighing she looked up and noticed her hand imprinted on his cheek. She winced, feeling really guilty about the wound she had inflected on him.  
  
"Look Max I am so angry with you right now I don't think we can talk rationally." Kenny said as he headed towards his bedroom. "So we'll just have to talk in the morning."  
  
"Whatever. The whole thing was your fault anyway." Max said since she had lost her appetite she headed towards the room she was staying in. " I want to find some place else to stay."  
  
Kenny looked at her with his mouth agape. He took a deep breath and walked over, grabbing her arm he turned her till she was facing him. "Not going to happen."  
  
"Since when do you have a say in what I do with me life?" Max asked shocked that he was trying to dominate her.  
  
"Since you nearly got yourself killed!" Kenny shouted at her.  
  
Max was seething with anger and wanted to hit him again. She raised her hand to do just that but Kenny blocked her and instead and pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the lips. Max pulled away, her eyes wide with surprise as Kenny walked away.  
  
****** ******* ******** ******** ********* *******  
  
He was angry, actually more than angry, he was furious. He looked around and saw the innocent girl sitting at the bus stop. She hadn't really done anything to make him angry but since he had missed an opportunity to kill Deputy Stewart twice now he was going to take it out on her. He drove up to the bus stop and smiled at her.  
  
"Want a ride?" He asked with his disarming smile.  
  
"I don't know..." The girl started but continued to look at him. "All right." She said giving in as she got in the car.  
  
He grinned, this was getting way to easy and she was going to be the new victim. He shook his head as he pretended to drive where she wanted to go.  
  
Two hours later he stabbed her once through the heart and bite her neck. She had barely put up a struggle and he was already bored with her. It was almost as if she was ready to die.  
  
****** ******* ******* ****** ********* ******  
  
The phone rang in the middle of the night; it wasn't like Kenny was asleep anyway. Sighing he answered it and grimaced when he heard there was another body. He gulped and climbed out of bed, hurriedly putting on his uniform. He walked into the living room and saw Max asleep on the couch. He smiled softly at her sleeping form and covered her with a blanket.  
  
"I'll be back." He whispered, still confused on why he had kissed her.  
  
*** ********* ********* ******* ********* ******  
  
He watched the police file on scene and grinned he raised his knife and threw it. He watched to see if it would hit a police officer and grinned when he saw it hit Sheriff Jimmy Brock. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Jimmy fell to the ground, landing on his knees before his wide eyes stared up at Kenny and he fell flat on his face, blood seeping from a new wound. Kenny shouted for someone to call an ambulance while he got down and tried to slow some of the bleeding. He knew enough to know he couldn't pull the knife out without risking further injury, yet with the knife still in he couldn't stop the bleeding.  
  
He grinned as he watched the panic that had started all around him. He got into his car and drove away, proud of his new accomplishment. So now they would know that he had been at the scene, so what, he would find another way to watch the damage he caused.  
  
Maxine woke up in the apartment early the next morning and decided to start some coffee. Sighing she went to check in to make sure Kenny was up and frowned when she saw he wasn't in his room. She bit her bottom lip nervously as she walked into the kitchen and started some coffee. She looked up when she heard the door open and she saw Kenny walk in.  
  
"Hey what's going on?" Max asked worriedly as she saw the tried and worried expression on Kenny's face.  
  
"Jimmy was stabbed in a way today." Kenny said with a sigh.  
  
"What?! What happened?" Max asked as her eyes went wide.  
  
"No one really knows what happened." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders. "One minute he was standing there being the Sheriff and the next he was on the ground with a knife sticking out of him."  
  
"What do you mean?" Max asked really confused about that answer.  
  
"Well one minute he was standing there acting fine and the next minute he is on the ground with blood flowing from a knife wound." Kenny said walking to the fridge to get a beer.  
  
"Well I am the under sheriff so I guess that means I am heading back to work." Max said biting her lower lip.  
  
"I think not. I'll take over until you're clear to come back and then you can take over. Max I don't want anything to happen to you." Kenny said as he walked over to her and ran his hand gently across her cheek.  
  
Max felt shivers race up her spine at the feeling the simple contact made her feel. She took a deep breath and backed slowly away from him, intent on taking complete control of her own emotions. She closed her eyes and turned away from him. Sighing she opened her eyes and quickly walked towards her bedroom. She had a feeling things had just gotten severely complicated between her and Kenny and she didn't like it.  
  
The next morning Maxine got up earlier than Kenny and made her way to work, not wanting to get into a fight with him about her heading back. She walked into Jimmy's office and took a seat behind his desk with a grin on her face. She glanced up as she saw the many curious glances she was receiving from the other Deputy's and she just shook her head and pointed to their desks, instructing them to get to work.  
  
Kenny sighed as he walked into the office later that morning. He was feeling overwhelmed and confused and with a glance into Jimmy's office he became angry. He slammed his fist onto his desk before he stalked into the office and stared down the woman that was making him feel lost and vulnerable.  
  
"What in the hell are you doing here?" Kenny asked after he slammed the door closed behind him.  
  
"Working." Max replied simply as she read over the updated report.  
  
"You're supposed to be at home, resting." Kenny said crossing his arms in front of him.  
  
"Well gee I must have missed that instruction, you know the one saying you were my boss." Max said as she set the report aside. "I am the under sheriff and as so it is my duty to take over when Jimmy is hurt or sick."  
  
"You're hurt to!" Kenny said sitting down across from her. "You should be at home just like he is."  
  
"I am not having this argument with you." Max said simply before turning away from him again.  
  
"Why do you always do that? When someone gets close to you, or cares about you, you shut them out!" Kenny said angrily. "I care about you Maxine!"  
  
"Yeah well that's your problem, not mine." Max said with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
He grinned as he saw the young woman sitting at the table in the diner alone. She seemed to be lost in her own world, not even paying attention to what was going on around her. She would be the perfect person to become his next game piece in the game he was playing with the Rome Sheriff's Department. They would be shocked at his next victim because she didn't match his usual but that didn't matter much to him at the moment.  
  
"You must be new around here." He said as he took a seat across from her.  
  
"Yeah. I am just traveling through." She said with a smile towards him.  
  
"Where are you off to?" He asked trying to get her to let her guard down completely.  
  
"Swanson County." She said with a smile. "My uncle lives out that way."  
  
"Is he expecting you?" He asked her gently.  
  
"Well not exactly. I kind of ran away from home, but it's only for a little bit and then I promise to head back home. I just can't be there with everything going on there right now." She said hurriedly, hoping he wasn't a policeman who would force her to go home immediately.  
  
"Hey don't worry about it. Do you have some place to stay tonight?" He asked her with a fake concerned look.  
  
"No." She shook her head hesitantly.  
  
"Let me help you out then." He said with a smirk.  
  
That night the defenseless young woman became his newest victim but she was also someone that was well known to one of Rome's cops without anyone really knowing that just yet. When her body was found it would kill the Deputy to see her the way he would leave her. Just another day in the life of your typical serial killer. 


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5  
  
The body was the easy thing to dump; arranging her the right way was the hard part. He needed to make sure that when she was found he was hurting. He grinned as he looked down at his handy work and nodded his head. Oh yeah she was going to be one of his greatest kills and one of his most well known victims. He slowly backed away from his fresh crime and scene and checked around. The cops were naïve and stupid so it seemed he would have to leave them a small clue to make this game interesting.

* * *

Kenny sat in the living room staring at the TV in front of him. He could tell that Max was dreading coming back to the apartment but he hoped she came home soon. He glanced at the clock on the wall again before turning his attention back to the TV. He looked over towards the front door when he heard a key in the lock and then sighed with relief when Max walked in.  
  
"Do you know how worried I have been about you?" He nearly shouted at her.  
  
"Well gee I am so sorry." Max said sarcastically. "I didn't know I needed to check in with you."  
  
"Max I am still your partner and your friend." Kenny said softly.  
  
"For now." Max whispered under her breath.  
  
"What is your problem?" Kenny asked her starting to get angry.  
  
"I don't know!" Max shouted at him as she threw her stuff down on the counter.  
  
"Well maybe you should figure it out." Kenny said as he stepped closer to her.  
  
"Maybe I should." Max shouted back.  
  
All of sudden they lunged at each other and started kissing heatedly. When they pulled apart neither one was sure about what had just happened between them. Max gulped and backed towards her bedroom but she didn't make it there.  
  
"If we keep running away we are never going to figure out what's wrong." Kenny said as he grabbed her arm.  
  
"But if I stay and we decide there is something there, when the whole thing goes bad we are going to hate each other and I don't want to lose my partner and my best friend." Max said as she looked at the ground.  
  
"Yeah well what if it turned out that it was the best thing that could have ever happened to us? Max this thing could be our destiny and instead of taking a risk you want to play it safe?" Kenny asked as he stroked her cheek. "What happened to the Maxine I knew?"  
  
"She got smart." Max said still wanting to pull away but not going to. She looked up into Kenny's eyes and the next thing she was kissing him passionately.

* * *

He could tell that something was different as he watched the cops gather at the scene. He wasn't there and neither was that female deputy that busted him. Oh this would be war all right as his eyes widened when he saw them finish up at the crime scene. How could they not be there when they were the ones he wanted there the most?

* * *

Jill sat next to Jimmy's bedside as he slept peacefully, high on medication and pale from the loss of blood. She held his hand tightly in hers as she watched him struggle to breath despite the help he was getting medically. Sighing she slowly got to her feet and kissed her husbands forehead before walking out of the room to call Kimberly and check on her and the boys. She needed to make sure there were no problems at home because she was sure she would have a nervous breakdown if there were. She walked to the nurses desk and picked up the phone and dialed home.  
  
"Brock residence." Came Kimberly's strained voice.  
  
"Kim it's Jill." Jill said to her stepdaughter.  
  
"Is he okay? What's going on?" Kimberly asked in a rushed voice.  
  
"He's still having some trouble." Jill said softly. "How are Matt and Zack?"  
  
"They fell asleep a little while ago. I haven't been telling them everything about dad. I just didn't want to scare them." Kimberly said softly.  
  
"That's all right Kim. I appreciate that." Jill reassured her. "I am gonna go back and sit with him so I just wanted to check in."  
  
"All right. When he wakes up tell him we all love him." Kim said quickly.  
  
"I will." Jill said before she hung up the phone.

* * *

Maxine looked over at Kenny lying beside her and closed her eyes against the overwhelming feelings that were taking over. She couldn't believe what she had done with one of her best friends. She took a deep breath and tried to block out the thought of what had happened, because in her mind it shouldn't have.

* * *

He needed a new victim already. One that would hurt everyone involved in his new game and one that he knew would make it more challenging. There had to be someone that would hurt his new players and someone that would make it difficult to kill. He smirked when he finally figured it out, he knew she was in town for a little while and that it would hurt the Sheriff's family the most if she disappeared. Though his main goal was that female Deputy he was going to have to take care of the Sheriff to get to her.

* * *

Lana looked around her as she woke up in a cold sweat after her nightmare had begun. Something just wasn't right and she knew it. She had a feeling that someone was watching her and she wasn't all that sure who it could be. She gulped as she felt eyes traveling over her body and she shivered with fright. Something just wasn't right and she wanted to get out of that room and fast. 


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Chapter 6  
  
He watched her face contort with fear as he continued to hide in the closet. Yes it was time to do what he should have done the minute he got in the room. He grinned as he watched her slowly push the covers away. She had a killer body and in his mind that was a major plus. She couldn't be more than twenty-five and yet he was attracted to her. He was never attracted to women her age but for some reason this one was special, maybe it was because of what she meant to him. He watched as she reached for the robe sitting on the edge of her bed. He smirked with pleasure, as she was about to put it on. Now was the time he was supposed to make his move.

* * *

"Max I think we need to talk." Kenny said as they sat staring at each other over coffee.  
  
"About what?" She asked pretending to be ignorant.  
  
"You know what about." He said shortly.  
  
"Look can we talk after work? We're both going to be late as it is." Max said as she glanced at the clock.  
  
"No we can't. We need to get this done and out in the open." Kenny said shaking his head at her. "I don't regret last night."  
  
"Kenny..." Max started and then stopped. Last night she had been feeling regret and something else. This morning it was a little different, she could tell that Kenny wanted there to be something there. She sighed and looked into her coffee mug and tried to think of a logical reason on why they couldn't be together.

* * *

He smiled as he laid her gently across the mattress in his new chamber. He decided it was time for a change of M.O. It was time to through those stupid pigs for a loop. Just when they thought they knew everything there was to know about him, he was going to go and screw the whole thing up. He grinned his evil grin as he left her on the ratty mattress that smiled of urine. He looked around at his new cell and decided these were pretty nice digs for a kidnap victim. He shook his head as he walked out of the door and carefully locked the sound proof chamber with the twist of the key. He camouflaged it just in case and left the building completely. No one would find this room, no one at all.

* * *

Lana awoke with a splitting headache and couldn't believe everything that was around her. The grimy walls stared back at her and her mind was spinning. She sniffed the air and winced with disgust. She felt sick to her stomach but wasn't sure she wanted to go near the toilet in that room. She looked at all the walls for a door but saw no sign of one. All the walls were the same dreary color and they didn't even have a crack in them. She gulped painfully and then felt the tears roll slowly down her cheeks, she was trapped her and no one would even miss her, because no one knew she was gone.

* * *

Jill held onto Jimmy's hand tightly as she waited patiently for him to wake up. Kim had come by a little while ago with a change of clothes and to see her father. Matthew and Zack were staying with some friends until she went to pick them up.  
  
"Jill I guess I better go get the boys." Kim said realizing her father wasn't going to wake up no matter how much she wanted him to.  
  
"Kim I want to thank you for taking such good care of them. I know this is hard on you, considering you probably want to be here more than anything." Jill said as she started rambling.  
  
"Jill it's all right." Kim said with a small smile. "I like spending time with them, besides this is one of the few times I actually get to boss them around and I don't mind."  
  
Jill just smiled as she watched her stepdaughter walk out the door and leave. She turned back to Jimmy and started to talk to him again. "You were right Jimmy, Kim really has grown up lately, she's become really mature and responsible. You'd be really proud of how she is handling this entire situation, you would be." She said softly as she stroked his hand. " When you wake up we should talk about rewarding her for everything."

* * *

He scouted out the new one, the one that would send the message about the brand new game. He found her lying down on a park bench, a runaway perhaps? He didn't care much, this one wasn't going to die. He cautiously approached her, he didn't want her to wake up. He looked around and noticed there was no one in the park, perhaps fear of the new killer? He didn't care as long as he got his way. He took out the needle and injected it in such a way she didn't feel a thing, he had become an expert at that. She would be out cold and by the time she came around he would be long gone with his prize. He waited until he was sure the medicine had kicked in and he pulled out his knife.

* * *

Max and Kenny walked into the Sheriff station after a long discussion at home. She looked at Kenny to see him struggling with what they had decided. She knew he didn't like some of the things that were forced upon him but that was just to bad.  
  
Max walked into Jimmy's office and took a seat behind his desk, it felt really weird to sit here. She looked down at the box that was sitting there, addressed to her.  
  
"Wonder what this is?" She asked herself as she opened it and got the biggest surprise of her life.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Okay I have been really sick and having computer problems lately and so I haven't been able to update. I apologize for that.

* * *

Chapter 7

Maxine took a deep breath as she looked at the piece of tongue sitting in the box and tried not to throw up. Slowly she got up out of the chair and walked over to the door and opened it to look at all the Deputies that were in the office. She had seen a note inside the box but she couldn't touch it, that would possible destroy evidence.

" Uh Kenny could you come here a minute." She said trying to keep her voice light.

" Yeah." Kenny mumbled as he walked over to her. " What?" He asked as they stepped inside Jimmy's office.

" I got a package from the killer." Max said as she pointed to the box on the desk. " It's got what looks to be a piece of tongue or something in there."

" Your kidding? What would make him send you something like that?" Kenny asked as he walked over to the desk and peered inside the box. He drew back with a frown on his face.

" I don't know but he did." Max said as she picked up the phone to call someone to perserve the tongue.

* * *

Jill looked at Jimmy and shook her head softly. He was looking worse with every passing day and the only thing that she could think about was what would happen if he passed away. She mentally chided herself for thinking that way and closed her eyes to try and block out the image of a very pale Jimmy, lying against the white hospital sheets. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open and looked up to see Zack walk inside.

" What are you doing here?" Jill asked her son softly.

" I just wanted to see him. I wanted to make sure he wasn't dead." Zack said softly as he walked over to the bed and glanced down at his severely injured father.

" Zack, honey, this is no place for you to be right now." Jill said not wanting her son to see his father like this.

" He needs to know that I'm here." Zack said as he sat down next to his father on the bed. " I'm not going home mom."

Jill smiled softly at her son and realized that as much as she wanted to protect him from this image it would be impossible. She lifted her hand and gently stroked the side of Jimmy's face, thinking about how grown up their children seemed to be.

* * *

Kenny sat behind his desk, analyzing the letter that was stuffed into the box with the human piece. It wasn't a tongue like they thought, it turned out to be a piece of tissue from inside the shoulder. A young woman was found in the park with the same piece missing and she swears she doesn't know what happened. Sighing Kenny re-read the game plan that the killer had specifically drawn out and felt like hitting someone. He glanced over at Max who was talking to a new deputy and he felt his frustrations build. He leaned back in his chair and thought about their conversation from earlier and decided he wasn't going to accept the terms that Max laid out. Just because she was acting Sheriff right now didn't mean she was going to control every aspect of his life. So she was the boss at work, well that meant that at home she was fair game. He grinned and turned back to the task at hand.

* * *

He looked over Lana with a smirk as he noticed that she shrunk away from him immediately. She was terrified f him, he really liked this feeling. He closed and locked her cell door and walked down his little hallway, up the stairs and outside into the beautiful weather. Maybe he should just collect them for a while, build up his stash so that when it was time to kill again he would have plenty of victims to choose from. He wouldn't have to worry about snatching them later, or trapping them, they would already be his. He glanced behind him at the now closed door and tried to estimate how many girls he would need to keep him happy. He locked the door behind him and hid it from view. He turned and walked away from the spot, thrilled that now he was even more up on the police than before.

* * *

Max walked into the candelit apartment with surprise and shock written on her face. She set her stuff aside and looked around for some sign of Kenny.

" Kenny I thought we had an agreement." She called out as she closed the door behind her.

" No you talked and I listened. Doesn't mean I agreed with everything you said." Kenny said walking out of the back bedroom.

" This is why you couldn't stay over tonight?" Max asked with an arched brow.

" Max obviously you have never been romanced before, so let me be the one to romance you." Kenny said ignoring her comment about work. " Remember when you walk through that door work is not allowed anymore. When we are in this apartment it's only personal and not professional."

" That's kinda hard to remember Kenny." Max said taking a deep breath, frustration building at the thought that he didn't listen to her this morning. " Kenny I am your..." She started only to be cut off by Kenny's lips crashing down on hers. She forgot what she was about to say and glanced at Kenny with a confused look, as if expecting him to tell her what she was thinking of saying a few minutes before.

Kenny just shook his head and guided her to the table set for two, a nice dinner set out. Max was blown away and speechless as she sat, a little unsure on what was happening now.

* * *

He saw her walking out of the store and knew who she was. She had a connection to this case and eventually she would make the perfect victim but not yet. He pulled up his camera and snapped some photo's of the young girl. She was very pretty but she wasn't his type at the moment. He turned his attention to the woman that came out after her. The blonde woman glanced down at the ground as she dropped her keys. He thought it was sexy the way she looked so frustrated. Smirking he snapped her photo as well and decided she was next. She was going to be the next one he grabbed and if she knew what was good for her she wouldn't fight back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Max watched as Kenny poured them both some wine and she tried to figure out what was going through his head. She looked down at the dinner he had made and was even more confused. Looking back up she saw him studying her with his head cocked to the side, looking as sexy as ever. Max smiled slightly at him, trying to put him at ease a little because she could tell he was a little nervous. She knew what he was trying to prove her but she was even more determined to prove her own point. Biting her lower lip she watched as Kenny started to say something and then stopped himself.

" What?" She asked him softly.

" I was just going to say that you look confused." Kenny said as he took a sip from his wineglass.

" Well I am a little. I could have sworn this issue was resolved but apparently I was wrong." Max said leaning back in her seat.

Kenny set his wineglass down on the table and shook his head at her before taking a bite of his dinner. " You should eat before it gets cold." He said simply.

" Kenny what is going on with you?" Max asked taking a small bite of her dinner.

" Nothing." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders and looking down at his own meal.

* * *

Lana glanced at the room again and broke down in tears. She wasn't sure how long she had been here or even how long he would keep her but she would try and figure out ways to get out. She could already tell that there was only one door and there weren't any windows so she would have to come up with a plan of action. He usually came in and fed her three times a day but sometimes he forgot so she would have to be ready in either case. She could try hiding near the door and attack once it was opened but she had a feeling that that would be useless. She closed her eyes against the overhwelming feeling of dread that was closing in on her. She knew that there was someone out there who would eventually figure out she was missing but she wasn't sure how long that would take.

* * *

Kenny glanced at the phone as it rang and sighed as he went to answer it. He should have thought of unplugging it altogether but even he knew that wasn't smart given their occupation.

" Hello?" He answered with a sigh.

" I have something that you want." Came the male voice over the line.

" And what would that be?" Kenny asked frustrated. He wasn't in the mood to play games and this sure sounded like it would turn into one.

" Lana." The voice said simply before hanging up.

Kenny looked at the receiver that was no only playing the dial tone before slowly lowering it to its cradle. He turned towards Max with a frown on his face before he decided to call his cousin and see if she was in school like she was supposed to be. He slowly dialed her dorm room's number and waited patiently for either Lana or her roommate to answer.

" Cara." Came the sleepy female voice over the line.

" Cara it's Kenny. Is Lana there?" Kenny asked fearing the answer.

" No she went to Rome to see you Kenny. She had some news to give you." Cara said with a confused voice.

" What news?" Kenny asked softly now fearing the worst.

" She got herself in trouble Kenny. She's pregnant." Cara said softly.

" Oh geez." Kenny said clenching his jaw. " Look do you have a recent picture of her Cara? One that you could fax me?"

" Sure but why?" Cara asked confused.

" Because I think she might be missing." Kenny said simply before relaying his home fax number and hanging up.

* * *

Max studied Kenny as he talked lowly on the phone, not letting her hear anything that he was saying. She could tell that something really bad had happened but she was really confused on what that could have been. She watched as he hung up the phone and then turned towards her with a pained look on his face.

" What happened?" Max asked immediately getting up and going over to him.

" Lana's missing and she's pregnant." Kenny said shaking his head. " She's like a sister to me Max, if anything happens to her I don't know what I'm gonna do."

" I know Kenny, it's gonna be all right." Max said as she pulled him into her arms. " Should we call the police in the area she disappeared?"

" Already done. She was here in Rome Max. Some guy called me and told me he has her and if that's true he might not keep her alive for long." Kenny said holding on tightly to her.

All right. We should call the station and have a phone tap put on your phone in case he calls again. We'll find her Kenny, I promise." Max said as she kissed the side of her head and then picked up the phone to call the station.

* * *

He watched from his favorite spot as Lana struggled to open the door. Some women were just so stupid that they didn't know when a situation was hopeless. He zoomed in with the camera and shook his head with laughter. Oh yeah this game would be so much more fun than the other one. This time he would make all the women suffer. He looked at the other monitor and saw the woman he had just taken that morning, she was still sleeping off the drug but when she woke up she would make things a lot more interesting.

* * *

Lana worked on the door knob with everything she had but nothing was budging. She sat on the floor and began to sob as she held her still flat abdomen. She had to fight for her baby if not for herself. She would get out of there if it was the last thing she did.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Lana rocked back and forth on the floor, holding her stomach and murmuring to the life that was growing in there. She had wanted to tell Kenny about the baby because she knew he would understand and help her tell her parents. She gulped as she thought of her cousin who was like a brother to her and then started crying. She needed to get out of there and soon.

* * *

Kenny and Max sat in the living room while the rest of the deputies went out to distribute the photo's of Lana around town. If someone saw her get taken than hopefully now they would come forward. Max held on tightly to Kenny's hand and could see he was trying so hard not to fall apart. They had handled a couple of kidnapping cases before but it's different when it's happening to you. Now he knew how they all felt and it was something you didn't want anyone to feel. Sighing Max laid her head gently on his shoulder and hoped he would draw some comfort from her at least. She wouldn't fight her feelings for him tonight because right now he didn't need a fight, he needed a friend.

* * *

Jill looked up as someone walked into the room. She smiled as she saw it was a nurse coming to check on Jimmy and see how he was doing. Jill glanced at the monitors and then at Jimmy to see that there was no change and her heart broke a little more. She couldn't bear the thought of possibly losing him because of some sick perverted jerk who only wanted to hurt someone. She saw that the nurse was biting her lower lip and that meant she had gossip. Though Jill didn't normally listen to that stuff she had nothing better to do since she was not leaving her husbands side.

" Tell me what you know." Jill said softly.

" Kenny's cousin is missing. She was kidnapped right here in Rome." The nurse blurted without anymore encouragement.

" Oh no. How's he taking it?" Jill asked with wide eyes.

" I don't know. I just know that we got a picture of her and were told to keep our eyes open." The nurse said as she finished writing down all the readings. After she was finished she left the room and Jill alone with her comatose husband.

" Well I guess I should call Kenny and see how he's doing. Who knows what he's going through." Jill said softly to her husband and she picked up the phone that was sitting on his nightstand and slowly dialed Kenny's home number.

* * *

Kenny jumped as the phone rang and he took a deep breath. If that was the man again than he wasn't sure he would be able to hold it together, knowing he had Lana. He glanced over and saw Max watching him closely and so he walked over and picked up the phone.

" Hello." He said softly.

" Kenny it's Jill. I just heard about your cousin. How are you holding up?" Jill asked him softly.

" I'm all right Jill. Max is here to keep me in line. I can't lose it in front of her, that would strip me of my manhood." Kenny joked softly. He hoped that it would also help ease some of his worries but it didn't.

" Everything will be fine Kenny, you'll see." Jill said into the phone encouragingly.

" I hope so." Kenny said. " I gotta go, we're leaving the phone line open, just in case." Kenny said into the phone.

" All right. Just know I'm thinking about you." Jill said as she hung up the phone.

* * *

Max looked at Kenny with a worried look. She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She could tell that there was something between them but even if she were going to give into her feelings, now is not the time to do it. She looked down at the ground as she tried to think of something clever to say to lighten up the mood. She came up with a blank and just stayed silent.

* * *

Lana held her stomach as she laid down on the cool concrete inside her makeshift prison. She should have just gone straight to Kenny's and then there wouldn't have been any problems. He would have kept her safe and she wouldn't be lying in her, praying to live. She stroked her stomach lovingly and tried to comfort herself in the thought that she was a strong person and she would get herself and her unborn child out of this. Even if she couldn't then her cousin would, he was a Deputy and he wouldn't let anyone harm his family. She gulped as she remembered that he didn't know she was supposed to come to Rome. He wouldn't know to look for her because she hadn't talked to him yet. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of tears that threatened to let her captor know she was feeling sad and vulnerable.

* * *

He watched her from his position behind the glass. He could see her fighting back her tears and he laughed. Her room was soundproof so no one would hear her scream and she couldn't hear him. He looked at the intercom button and thought about pressing it, about letting her know that he was there but decided against it. He looked at the television screen at his other captor, she was in another cell elsewhere and he saw her waking up. Oh she would want to see him very soon but she wouldn't. He saw her come to the realization that she was not anywhere close to home. He enjoyed the panic on her face as she struggled to her feet and he watched as she ran to the door. He laughed even harder as she tried desperately to get out. Oh this game was a lot more fun than his first one.

* * *

Kenny had the strangest feeling that something bad was going to happen to someone else he cared about. He looked at Max who was fast asleep next to him and he frowned softly. She had already had one run in with this guy, what if he came after her again? What if he was targeting people close to Kenny? What if he was the real target and no one knew it? Kenny looked up at the pictures in front of him and swore that no matter what happened he would save Lana and protect Max, even if it cost him his own life.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Max woke up slowly to the realization that someone was watching her. Glancing over she smiled at Kenny who was sitting in a chair staring at her.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked with a grin.

"Just a little while, I couldn't sleep any longer." Kenny smiled as he walked over to her.

"Worried about Lana?" Maxine asked as she held open her arms, prepared to offer comfort.

"Yeah." He said softly as he looked down at the ground. "I can't help but think there is something we're missing. Someone has to know something and they just don't know it. What if I know who it is? What if it's someone that we have arrested before?"

"Kenny stop beating yourself up over this. What happened to Lana isn't your fault and I want you to understand that." Max said with a sigh. "You have nothing to do with what happened."

"I wish I could believe that." Kenny said before he walked out of the room and then out of the apartment, leaving Max to wonder what was going on inside his head.

* * *

Lana had lost track of the time, she wasn't even sure if it was day or night. She couldn't believe that she was still alive but there had to be a reason. This guy was playing around and he had a hidden agenda. Maybe she could use that to her advantage? Maybe she could try and find out what he wanted? If only he would talk to her, then she could try and get inside his head. But she hadn't seen or heard from him in a while. All she knew was that she always felt so tired and when she woke up there was food or water there. She didn't think they were drugged because she always felt fine after she ate them, and it was always before they arrived that she felt sick. Something really weird was going on and she wasn't all that sure she wanted to know what it was.

* * *

Jill stared at her husband who was still in a coma. She closed her eyes against the medical facts and just tried to use hope. As a doctor she knew that the longer he stayed this way the less likely he was to fully recover, if he recovered at all. She gulped and opened them again, glancing every so often at the monitors, willing Jimmy to open his eyes and show her that he was all right.

* * *

He glanced at the calendar and circled a date. He grinned, knowing that it would drive the police and the public crazy not knowing anything about him. Part of his game was to disappear for a while, a month this time would do it. He had two victims to keep track of, two that he would keep alive for that entire month, a month that he would keep everyone on their toes.

* * *

1 month later…

Maxine sat staring straight ahead at the wall. She couldn't believe everything that was going on in her life. Lana still hadn't been found and Kenny was acting strange. There was a new Deputy in the department and she was flirting with Kenny nonstop. Maxine looked down at the desk that was now hers for a while. Jimmy was still in a coma and it was getting less likely that he would wake up. Jill had gone back to work but still spent her nights at the hospital. Maxine had moved back into her own place, away from Kenny, and right now that seemed like a good thing.

"Hey." Jill said as she walked into her husbands old office.

"Hi." Maxine said as she looked up at her friend. "See the new Deputy?"

"Hard to miss, she's draped all over Kenny's desk. I think she has decided that your desk is going to be her new one." Jill said with a small smile.

"Yeah well considering everything it might be for a while." Maxine said as she stopped smiling and let the tears fall freely. "I love him Jill. I never thought I would admit it but I do love him. He won't even talk to me anymore. Every time he comes into this office he has her with him and then outside of work I don't exist."

"Ah Maxine, I wish I could tell you that everything is going to work out, but I don't know that. I keep going home to the kids and staring at them, trying so hard to pretend that any day now Jimmy is going to wake up and that he's going to be just fine. I can't do it all by myself anymore Max, I can't." Jill said breaking down into tears.

* * *

Jimmy listened to Kim talking to him. He wanted so badly to wake up and tell her that he could hear everything. He wanted to tell her that he was still here with her, still her father. He felt so weak and so tired, he was afraid that he was dying. He couldn't stop fighting, he couldn't leave Jill. He thought of his sons, his daughter, the town, and of course his Deputies. He knew that if he died Maxine would be made acting Sheriff until the election but he wanted to be there. He loved his job and he missed his friends and employees. This guy who did this was going to pay and Jimmy was going to be there when they made the arrest, he had to be.

* * *

Maxine walked into the hospital room to take a shift so Jill could be with the boys and Kim tonight. She sat down next to Jimmy's bed and grabbed his hand.

"Well like always I really messed up Jimmy. I love Kenny and he doesn't love me. That's not all, there's more to it but I can't face it right now. I wish you could help me out like you always do, but I guess this time it's all on me to solve right? It's time for me to stand up and face the town and my own demons all on my own. I wish that it had been me that had gotten hurt and not you Jimmy. God you don't know how bad I feel right now." Maxine said as she closed her eyes and let her tears fall.

* * *

Jimmy couldn't take it, she sounded so bad. He had to wake up, he had to be there for everyone. He knew they couldn't make it without him. He needed to wake up now!

"Jill is miserable Jimmy. She loves you so much. The boys aren't really that sure how to feel, they don't want to hurt Jill or Kim." Maxine continued as if he were talking back to her.

Jimmy struggled to open his eyes. He needed to stare at Maxine and get her to tell Jill he was all right. He needed to let everyone know he was all right.

* * *

Maxine took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized that Jimmy was staring straight at her. " Jimmy!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran to the hallway. "Nurse! Get the doctor in here, he's awake."

" Hey do you have to yell? My heads killing me Maxine." Jimmy complained as his hoarse voice croaked out.

"I would give you something but I doubt the doctor would approve." Maxine chuckled as the doctor ran in with an amazed look.

* * *

Kenny sat staring at the television screen that was still blank. When he's phone rang he jumped up, hoping it was Max.

"Hello?" He answered trying to disguise his apprehension.

"Kenny, it's Jill. Jimmy just woke up and he wants you down here at the hospital." Jill said with excitement in her voice.

"On my way." Kenny said grinning.

"See you when you get here." Jill said as she hung up the phone.

Kenny was about to leave when the phone rang again.

"Hello?" He answered with a sigh.

"Lana is a very beautiful woman. Betcha can't wait to bury her. You have 1 week to find her and then she's dead." The voice said and hung up.

He had returned and now Lana was about to die.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kenny walked into the hospital room, prepared to pretend to be joyous in front of everyone only to see Jimmy lying there staring at him.

"Where is everyone else?" Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wanted to talk to you about Maxine." Jimmy said with a pointed look.

"What?" Kenny asked walking over to a chair and sitting in it.

"Why are you being so mean to her? Jill told me about the new Deputy." Jimmy said before Kenny could deny anything.

"I just can't explain right now. Jimmy I came by to see if you were all right and now that I know you are I need to go." Kenny said getting to his feet.

"This is about Lana?" Jimmy asked with a sigh.

"Yes." Kenny nodded slowly.

"I think you need to talk to Maxine because Kenny she needs you right now. I mean it as your friend and not just your boss. Go over to her place right now." Jimmy said with another sigh. "You'll regret it if you don't."

* * *

Maxine was finishing up the last of her dishes when she saw headlights pull into her driveway. Grimacing she figured it was Kenny and she took off the apron she was wearing. She was not ready to face him yet but she knew she needed to. She was well aware of how much she loved him and how much she needed to be with him.

* * *

He pulled into her driveway and grinned as he headed for her front door. He was wearing a disguise to be on the safe side because tonight there would be no mistakes. Maxine was his and he was going to make sure that everyone knew it. He knocked on her door, keeping his averted to the ground.

* * *

Max opened the door and sighed with relief when she realized it wasn't Kenny. She bit her bottom lip and then smiled at the stranger.

"Can I help you?" She asked him softly.

"Sure can. You can come with me." The man said as he grabbed her, holding a cloth to her face.

Max fought back, breaking the lamp in the entryway but it was no use, he was to strong. She felt the fight give out of her and then she knew no more.

* * *

Kenny pulled into Max's driveway with a determined mindset. He was going to find out exactly what was going on and he was then going to convince her to stay away from him. He loved her more than anything in this world and if he lost her, he wasn't sure he could bear it at the moment. He was positive that whoever was behind everything had a personal vendetta against him. Sighing he noticed all her lights were on and he smiled. Shaking his head he got out of his car and walked up the walkway, only to see her front door wide open.

"What the…" Kenny started until he noticed all of the broken stuff. Gulping he pulled out his cell phone and dialed dispatch for help.

* * *

Maxine woke up with a splitting headache and a weird taste in her mouth. Groaning she looked around and noticed another woman sitting a few feet away staring at her.

"Who are you?" The woman asked with wide eyes.

"Deputy Maxine Stewart." Max answered with a frown. "Who are you?"

"Lana Reynolds." The woman answered with a sigh. "Kenny talked about you often."

"He talked about you to. He's very worried about you." Max said and then it hit her, the killer now had her as well. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, fighting down a wave of panic.

"Kenny isn't going to take this well." Max said with a groan. "He's already blaming himself for your disappearance, me being missing is only going to make matters worse for him."

"Why is Kenny blaming himself for what happened to me?" Lana asked confused.

"Because he's Kenny." Max said with a shrug and a small smile.

"You're in love with him." Lana said smiling at her.

"Is it that obvious?" Max asked biting her lower lip.

"I can see it in your eyes. It's also in your voice when you talk about him." Lana said shrugging her shoulders.

"I wish Kenny had been able to see it." Max said softly as she turned away from Lana.

"Maybe he did." Lana said confused since she didn't know what was going on.

"Then why has he been flirting with another woman?" Max asked turning back towards Lana with her eyebrow arched.

"You said that he thought everything was his fault. Did it occur to you that maybe my idiot cousin thought he was protecting you by not being with you?" Lana asked trying to think about what might have been going through her cousin's head.

" I guess I should have thought about that considering how well I know him." Max said finally realizing what was going on.

* * *

Kenny walked into the precinct and stared at everyone that had gathered after he made the phone call. Sighing he walked into the center of the room to inform them that Max was now officially missing and that he had called in the state crime scene investigators to go over her house with a microscope.

"Deputy Stewart is missing at the moment. Someone kidnapped her from her home and I have a feeling it might be the guy that stabbed Sheriff Brock." Kenny said trying to be official. "I am second in line as acting Sheriff so I will take over being in charge for now. Listen I want everyone to keep cool about this and tight lipped. Not even your spouses are to know what's going on or where we stand on this case."

* * *

He looked in on his prize possessions, loving the looks on their faces. Deputy Stewart would be his most glorified kill yet. He laughed and decided to make them realize that no matter what they couldn't hide anything from him.

"Are you enjoying your new home? Don't forget it will most likely be your last." He said with an evil laugh and then pressed the off button on the intercom.

* * *

Maxine felt a cold chill run up her spin at those words. She was sure that she was in for a long night but even worse, she wasn't so sure she was leaving this place alive. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Maxine sat staring at the door, willing this man to enter it, to give her an opportunity to escape, but he never did. Sighing she glanced over at Lana who was watching her intently.

"Does Kenny know about the baby?" Lana asked cradling her abdomen.

"Yes he knows that you're pregnant." Maxine said nodding her head slowly.

"Is he angry with me?" Lana asked nervously.

"No he is more worried about you than anything." Max said shaking her head to reassure her.

"I wanted to tell him in person but I guess that just wasn't meant to be." Lana said with a sigh.

* * *

Kenny closed his eyes and banged his head against Jimmy's desk. He looked up when he heard a knock at the door and saw the new Deputy walk in. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her but he put a small smile on his face.

"What can I do for you?" He asked her seriously.

"I was thinking we could have dinner tonight at my place." She said with a smile.

"No, I can't." Kenny said shaking his head. He looked up as he saw Jill walk into the office. "Hey Jill." He said smiling at her.

"Hey Kenny, I need to talk to you and it's really important." Jill said taking a deep breath.

* * *

Jimmy looked at the television screen and shook his head. It was getting worse and worse in his town and there was nothing he could do about it from the hospital bed. He groaned as Max's picture once again got flashed as a missing person. It was killing him to not be leading the investigation but he knew there was nothing he could do to help them at the moment. He wasn't fully capable of handling anything at all.

* * *

He grinned as he watched his victims closely. No one knew why he kidnapped them and he liked having that advantage. They all had something in common, every single one of his victims, well all his female ones anyway. Now it was time to give them a hint since no one could figure it out. He watched Lana and Maxine closely as they talked amongst themselves. He rolled his eyes when he heard Maxine tell Lana everything was going to be all right, she knew the truth, she shouldn't be lying.

* * *

Kenny's eyes widened as he heard the connection between some of the victims. He gulped as he realized the implication when it came to Max. He looked down at the top of the desk and then back up at Jill.

"Does the same apply to Max?" He asked softly.

"I honestly don't know Kenny." Jill said shaking her head lightly.

"If it does and he hurts her than this guy is going to pay." Kenny promised as he got and slammed his fist down on the desk.

* * *

Jimmy woke up in the middle of the night to see a shadow in the corner of the room. He sighed because he knew who it was and what they wanted.

"You told me to go see her. You know don't you?" Kenny asked walking towards the bed.

"Yes I know." Jimmy answered with a small nod.

"Is she?" Kenny asked licking his lips.

"Is she what Kenny?" Jimmy asked with an arched brow, thinking they weren't talking about the same thing.

"Is she pregnant like all the other female victims?" Kenny blurted out.

* * *

Maxine stared at the wall and then glanced back at Lana who was fast asleep on the mattress in the room. She knew that there was a problem and yet she really didn't care at the moment. For some reason she was relaxed and calm and that's when she saw the foggy air, he was putting some kind of gas into the room to knock them out.

"Asshole." Max muttered before she succumbed to the seduction of the sweet smelling gas.

* * *

He laughed as he heard her muttered word and had to shake his head with pleasure. Maxine was a little fighter all right, but then again he had known she would be. He leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to the monitor that showed the other prison cell, the one housing his other victim. She was rocking back and forth, her knees held tightly to her chest. He was enjoying this a little to much most people would say but he didn't care what they thought. He was going to make sure that everyone knew what he was thinking and why he was doing the things he was doing real soon.

* * *

Jill stood at the kitchen sink with a dazed look on her face. Ever since she had discovered the connection between some of the female victims she had been feeling bad. She sighed as she dropped another dish, hearing it shatter inside the sink. This just wasn't her day.

"Mom is it true?" Kim asked walking into the room. "Is Max pregnant?"

"I don't think so honey. I think the only reason she was taken was because she is a police officer who made this guy mad." Jill said shaking her head no.

"Well then poor Kenny is going to be on edge until he talks to her and hears that for himself." Kim said rolling her eyes. "We all know that he takes care of his own and a baby would definitely be his own."

"If she would be pregnant what would make you think it's Kenny's?" Jill asked with an arched brow towards her step-daughter.

"This is Rome mom, everyone knows everyones business." Kim reminded her with a laugh.

"True." Jill conceded.

* * *

He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her outside, making sure that she was ready to suffer for her crimes. He grabbed his newest murder weapon and killed the pretty one. Blood was everywhere and he was laughing. "Another bites the dust." He muttered as he leaned down and kissed her. "Don't you wish you knew why?" He asked leaving behind a note for the cops. The new game had begun and now it was time to play it right. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Kenny stared at Jimmy as he waited patiently for him to answer. He looked at his friend's face and could tell he was struggling with his conscience. Taking that as a possibility that she was or that he suspected she was but wasn't sure Kenny sucked in a deep breath.

"Did she tell you or are you just guessing?" Kenny asked finally.

"Kenny I honestly can't tell you much of anything. You know how Max is when it comes to her private life. If there is a baby on the way she wouldn't tell me unless she felt the need to." Jimmy answered with a sigh. "Just look at it this way. If she is and she knows than she will fight very hard to get out of there."

"She will fight anyway, she's Max." Kenny said with a sigh. "I want to know the truth."

"We all do Kenny. We all do." Jimmy said with a sigh.

* * *

He watched as the girls reacted to the pictures he posted in their cell while they had been unconscious. He shook his head as he watched Lana throw up and Max appear to be disturbed but able to handle it. She was a police officer after all, that was the reason he had taken her really. She had been to close to evidence at the time, for he had just dumped a body right before she had pulled him over. He was sure the reason was because she had seen what he had done. Laughing he turned the monitor off and left the viewing area to go and watch some real TV, maybe the news would do another story about him.

* * *

Kenny sat up straight and glared at the television screen in front of him. As hard as he tried he could not get any sleep, no matter what happened it was almost as if he was feeling empty. Sighing he shut the TV off and walked into the kitchen area and stared at the fridge a long time before opening it. He wasn't hungry and he wasn't all that thirsty so he wasn't sure what he was doing at the fridge.

* * *

Lana studied Max with a knowing look. She had seen her tear the pictures off the wall and heard her pretend it was for her benefit but she had feeling it was as much for her and it was for Lana.

"You can't stand to look at pictures like that no matter how long you have been on the job." Lana said knowingly.

"True. I guess it still gets to me that people can be so cruel and inhumane." Max said with a sigh as she sat down on the cold ground. "Let's talk about you for a while."

"Why?" Lana asked confused.

"Because you're related to Kenny and I want to know about Kenny's family." Max said with a shrug.

* * *

Kenny glared at the paperwork in front of him on the desk. As hard as he tried he couldn't think of what he was supposed to do with it. His mind kept drawing blanks and his attention would always divert to something else in the office, the picture he had brought in there of him and Max. He looked at the picture again and tried so hard to think of a place that someone would take her. He slammed the pen on his desk just as the new deputy who had the hots for him came into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if maybe tonight I could take you out somewhere. It might take your mind off your missing cousin and friend." She said flashing a pearly white smile.

"No thanks." Kenny said more abrupt than he had meant to be.

"Oh, okay." She said letting her disappointment shine through.

Kenny felt horrible as he watched her turn and head towards the door. "Look I'm sorry it's just that I have a lot on my mind right now." Kenny tried to explain.

"It's all right." She said smiling at him again. "Maybe some other time?"

"Maybe." Kenny said knowing it would never really happen.

* * *

Maxine felt sick as she looked at the food that had been put in their room. She gulped and swallowed, nervously trying to not throw up. She looked over at Lana who had no problem throwing up although she had an excuse, she was pregnant. Sighing Max managed to get the nausea to subside and turned towards the nasty looking food, kicking it as far away from her as she could.

"You look like I feel." Lana said as she studied Max.

"What do you mean?" Max asked worriedly.

"Are you and Kenny an item?" Lana asked her with an arched brow.

"How do we get to that subject?" Max asked with her own brow arched.

"You know they say that a pregnant woman can spot another pregnant woman a mile away. I was only wondering if it was true. Are you pregnant?" Lana asked her with her arms crossed in front of her.

Max wasn't sure how to answer this but she figured since there was a chance that Lana would get out and Max wouldn't it would help to have her know everything. That way Lana could pass everything on to the necessary people in case Max died.

"Yes I am." Max admitted, for the first time saying it out loud. She smiled slightly and then burst into tears as she realized it was possible Lana would be the only person she would be able to admit that to.

"How far along?" Lana asked excited for her, not realizing what Max was feeling.

"Not far." Max said shaking her head.

"Whose the father?" Lana asked her wanting to know everything.

* * *

Jimmy looked over at Jill who was standing in the doorway. He could tell that she knew he was hiding a lot of things from everyone.

"You know something that you are not sharing." Jill said to her husband as she took a seat next to him.

"Yes." Jimmy admitted.

"Why won't you share it?" Jill asked him.

"Because it's not my place." Jimmy said simply before closing his eyes to get some rest.

* * *

He knew what he had to do and there was no way around it. He laughed as he realized that the town of Rome had no idea what was coming next.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jill stared at her husband with a disgusted look. As much as she loved him it was killing her that he refused to share any information about what he knew with her. She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back in the chair, watching as he slept on, completely unaware of what his wife was sitting there thinking.

* * *

Maxine could tell that Lana wanted an answer immediately but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to answer that simple question. She wanted to be able to let her know whether or not Kenny was the father of the baby she carried but Max was also aware that the kidnapper could be listening in and she didn't want him to know that information for some reason.

* * *

Kenny stared at the letter that had been delivered to the station for him. He frowned as he realized that this meant he really was the target after all. He put the letter down after he finished reading it and had to struggle with himself to make sure he didn't crush it into little pieces. He glanced up when he heard someone knock on his door and frowned when he saw the new deputy standing there. He had been avoiding her as much as possible because he couldn't stand seeing her pout that way she always did when he turned her down for a date. This was a time he wished Max were here, she would have taken care of this situation for him.

"Can I help you with something?" Kenny asked politely. He was going to really try to discourage her but remain friends for the simple fact that after everything they would still have to work together.

"Well yes actually you can. Everyone has been telling me that you're in love with this other deputy, Maxine Stewart. Is it true?" She asked him seriously, cocking one eyebrow. She had this look on her face as if to say she didn't believe it.

"Yes. I even think that when I get her back we will end up getting married." Kenny said, surprising even himself with that one. The truth was marriage hadn't really crossed his mind but it didn't really scare him.

"Marriage?" She asked with her eyes practically popping out of her head. "Wow even around here has told me that you're not the type to head to the altar."

"I wasn't, until now." Kenny said with a grin. He finally realized something that was right in front of his face all along, Maxine was his destiny and the only person that he wanted. He knew at that moment he would give anything just to have her back safe and sound.

* * *

As he watched his captors Lana and Max together something finally clicked. He was about to make sure that Kenny was faced with the toughest decision of his life. He was going to have to choose between Lana and Max, and the one he didn't chose was going to pay with their life.

* * *

Kenny looked down at the crime scene and sucked in a deep breath. Another pregnant woman was found dead and this time it was even more horrific than the last one. She was sliced and diced and she was missing some body parts, but the worst thing was that her baby was missing from the womb.

"I don't think I want to stand here much longer." Kenny said sucking in a deep breath. Knowing that there was a possibility that Max was pregnant and looking at these bodies, he just couldn't handle it anymore.

"Kenny you have seen so much worse than this." Carter said frowning at him.

"Yeah well I have a lot on my mind. I can't block this one out right now is all." Kenny said turning his back to the body and trying not to throw up. "I'm gonna head over to the hospital and talk to Jimmy, maybe he might have some input on this."

* * *

Jill looked up when she heard the door to Jimmy's room open and smiled when she saw Kim standing there. She frowned immediately when she realized something was wrong and got up slowly to walk over to her.

"Kim?" She asked slowly.

"My mom called. She said that she really needed to see me and she wants me to fly out to Hawaii where she is vacationing." Kim said biting her lower lip. "I told her now wasn't a good time and all but she said it's an emergency."

"Kim I need you to watch Zack and Matt. Look your mom exaggerates sometimes; did you tell her you would talk it over with me first?" Jill asked upset that she would be pulling this.

"Yeah. Look I didn't expect to be able to go but I promised my mom I would talk to you about it so I had to bring it up." Kim said putting her hands on her hips.

* * *

He puts his plan into action as he laughs to himself. He doesn't know why he does everything that he does but it makes him feel good. He looks at the two sleeping women, both of them hold a place in Kenny's heart. He feels his smile fade away as he thinks about everything that Kenny's family took away from his. He put his fist through the wall as he pictured Kenny's face and then smiled again as he realized he didn't need to lay a hand on him to make him hurt.

* * *

Max woke up with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, a gut feeling that something bad was about to happen. She bit her bottom lip nervously as she looked over at Lana who was sleeping peacefully, unaware that something was about to happen. She thought back and mentally reviewed all of her police training, she would have to find a way out of this mess.

* * *

Kenny sat in his living room thinking about Max and what he had said earlier. He felt something pinch his gut and he realized immediately what it was. Something really bad was about to happen in Rome and he had a feeling it was going to happen to someone that he knew.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Max stared up as a new girl was thrown into the same room with them. She was biting her lip nervously as she looked at the two women already there.

"Hi." Lana said walking up to her slowly. "I'm Lana and this Deputy Maxine Stewart."

"You're a cop and you're here?" The woman asked with her eyes going wide. "He kidnapped a cop?"

"Yeah well I guess it was my lucky day." Maxine said shrugging her shoulders.

* * *

Lana could tell already that Maxine was trying to think up a plan to get them out of here. She smiled to herself and then turned towards the new woman and winked at her. The woman got the hint and backed off, not asking anymore questions.

* * *

Kenny sat down and stared at the picture he had placed on his desk. There was a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach and he wasn't sure what it was. He knew Max was going through something horrible and probably feeling helpless, something she didn't like to feel. Sighing he swiveled around in his chair and turned to look out the window. He wished he could find her, he wished desperately that it had been him and not her.

* * *

Jimmy opened his eyes and stared at his wife who was biting her lower lip nervously. He knew that Jill had a lot on her mind and he was feeling guilty for being one of those things.

"Doc say's I'll be discharged soon." Jimmy said with a small smile. "I think that I might finally get to relax before I get stuck heading back to work."

"Do you think Max is pregnant Jimmy?" Jill blurted out as if she hadn't heard him. "If she suspected why didn't she come and see me? I mean I would have helped her out."

"Honestly Jill I don't know." Jimmy said with a sigh. He had known this subject was going to brought up at some point.

"If she suspected why didn't she come and see me? I can keep a secret you know." Jill said a little hurt that Max hadn't come to see her.

"Maybe she didn't suspect or doesn't." Jimmy said a little unsure on how to voice his opinion on this matter. "Look Jill, we aren't going to have any answers until Kenny finds Max and brings her back safe and sound."

"True. What if he doesn't bring her back safe?" Jill asked as a new thought struck her. "Jimmy she could already be dead."

"Don't think that way." Jimmy admonished a little shocked that her mind had gone that route.

* * *

Max looked at the mirror in front of her and took a deep breath. She looked like a royal mess and if she were this new girl, she wouldn't trust her with anything. She turned towards Lana and Maddie and gave them a shaky smile. She couldn't exactly tell them that she had run out of options because she was supposed to be the one that got them out of there without any problems. She was the police officer who was supposed to save the day and at the moment Max doubted she would be able to save anyone.

* * *

Kenny felt a tightening in his gut, a warning sign that he had come to know as a police officer. Something was about to go wrong and he had a feeling it had to do with him again. He got to his feet and walked out the door, determined to try and find a way to stop whatever was going on before it happened.

* * *

He grinned as he watched the inner demon destroy Kenny. He knew that Kenny was feeling guilty about the fact that Maxine and Lana were missing. He also knew that it was killing him inside slowly. His inside contact had given him the news that Kenny was all set to fall apart, in fact he already was falling apart, slowly. He laughed as he realized that for the first time everything was going according to his plan.

* * *

Kenny felt a chill run up his spine as he looked around. He knew someone was watching him and now it was about finding out who it was. He turned slowly in a circle and looked for anything or anyone out of the ordinary but no one stood out to him. He gulped as he turned his attention back to what he was originally doing when it finally struck him. He had a feeling who knew who was doing this and why. He took off at a run towards the station, ready to get to business and take down the person responsible.

* * *

Maxine looked down at the piece of paper in front of her and frowned. She recognized the terminology on there and gulped. She knew who the kidnapper was and she had a feeling that the only reason he had become this way was because of her and Kenny. Turning towards the mirror she now knew that was a two way mirror like in the police house. The person behind there was watching them closely. She took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to get everyone out this situation and a way to make sure that no one else got hurt.

"Max you look like you've seen a ghost." Lana said walking over to her slowly.

"I think I might have." She whispered.

* * *

Jimmy felt something was wrong long before his daughter walked into the room. The look on her face told him that she had something she wanted to discuss with him and it was going to take everything in him to not blow up at her. He nodded his head slowly as she came over and took a seat opposite him.

"Dad I think I know who is behind all of this." Kim whispered as she eyed her father wearily.

"All right." Jimmy said sucking in a breath at the thought his daughter might be connected. "Want to tell me?"

* * *

Jill stood in the doorway as she listened to father and daughter talk and felt the anger inside of her at the thought that Jimmy could have died and Kim knew all along who was behind everything. Well she would have to help them all take this scumbag down and hard. 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jimmy looked over at Kenny who was fighting hard to hide his anger towards Kim. He knew when he called him and told him that Kim had some news for him that he was taking a big risk. He could see Kenny struggling hard with his emotions and didn't blame him one bit. When he heard everything Kim had to say to him it had angered him immensely to know that his little girl would even participate in something like this. He looked over at his only daughter and saw her eyes were diverted to the ground. He wasn't sure if she was crying but at this point that didn't really matter to him.

* * *

Maxine gulped as she came to. She didn't remember losing conciousness or anything but now she looked around and realized she was locked in the trunk of someone's car. 'Great' she thought to herself as she tried to figure out how she was tied up.

* * *

Kenny arrived at the address that Kim had given him only to find a bunch of empty rooms. He slammed his fist into the wall and that caused a secret passage way to open. He frowned and drew his gun, motioning behind him for the other deputies to follow. He followed it to the back and found a bunch more rooms with women in them. He sucked in a breath and nodded to everyone who started to open the doors to get the women out. He looked in the last room and saw Lana lying on a mattress staring at the ceiling. He couldn't tell if she was alive or not but he could tell that it was her.

"Lana." He said as he opened the door.

"Kenny?" She asked sitting up quickly. "Kenny!" She shouted jumping to her feet and running over to her cousin. "He took Max." She whispered knowing he would be looking for her.

"Damn. Do you know where?" Kenny asked holding her apart from him and looking into her eyes.

"No but he said he would be back for me. It was part of his plan to get even with you." Lana said biting her lower lip. She was trying to think of whether or not she should tell Kenny the other part and decided she better because it might be information he needs to recover her.

"What is it?" Kenny asked knowing there was something else.

"She's pregnant Kenny." Lana whispered.

Kenny closed his eyes against the feelings that were welling up inside him. He had suspected that she was pregnant but hearing it confirmed only made his determination stronger. He looked over his cousin with sharp eyes and could tell that she was studying him closely; it was almost as if she expected him to go off the deep end. He sighed and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"How far along?" He asked her softly.

"Don't know. She really didn't want to talk about it, probably because she knew that the day would come when she wouldn't be able to tell you herself. He gave us a choice Kenny and Max chose to sacrifice herself to save us. She's a very brave woman and I hope you find her alive Kenny." Lana whispered as she laid a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"I hope so to. If I don't that man is going to wish he had never messed with me." Kenny snarled angrily.

* * *

Max sucked in a deep breath as she looked into the familiar eyes of a person she used to know. It was someone she regretted knowing at all but a piece of her past that she couldn't seem to shake. She gulped as she stared into the hatred filled eyes of the person she thought she knew. She took another deep breath and bit her bottom lip gently.

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered gently.

"You know why." He snarled angrily. "You know why I am doing everything."

"How can I make you stop?" She asked softly.

"Everyone thought Kenny was the one I wanted to hurt. No one ever stopped to think that maybe it was you I was after. I am tired of kidnapping stupid women when I can just torture you for the rest of your life. You tortured me from the day you left and so now I thought I might repay you for your generosity." He snarled at her with venom laced in his voice.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't you just move on?" Max asked desperately. She let her hand drift to her still flat abdomen and she felt panic rising.

"That will never happen so get over it." He said as he lifted his hand and slapped her across the face.

* * *

Kenny arrived at the Sheriff's Department and looked around for Kim. He had ordered the new Deputy to have her brought here and he looked around and spotted her sitting in her fathers office. Angrily he stomped towards the office and slammed the door behind him.

"Where would he take her?" He asked simply, knowing he didn't have to explain himself.

"I honestly don't know. He wouldn't tell me things like that, it would be to personal and to private." Kim said realizing that she had been betrayed. "He never mentioned anything about leaving or moving anyone."

"Would he try and kill her tonight?" Kenny asked softly, voicing his greatest fear.

"I don't think so. Kenny he kept talking about making her realize her biggest mistake. I think he is going to keep her alive, I don't think he ever really meant to kill her. I mean he probably thought about it and planned it but I don't think he would actually do it." Kim said hysterically. "Oh god it will be all my fault if anything happens to Max and no one will ever forgive me. I won't be able to forgive myself."

Kenny just watched as Kim fell apart and he shook his head back and forth. He didn't feel sorry for her one bit but as he looked out the window of Jimmy's office he could only hope he would be able to find a way to Max before anything else happened.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Kenny stared at the pictures in his apartment as he tried to desperately get his mind around the one thought that was pushing through his brain. Maxine was pregnant and he wasn't even sure whether it was his or not. Max was in danger and there was nothing he could do for her. He sighed as he picked up a picture of him and Max at a baseball game and he laughed softly to himself. Max had proven that she had more spunk than anyone ever really gave her credit for.

* * *

Maxine looked around her at the place she was being held now. She gulped as she noticed the pictures on the wall and recognized them almost immediately as ones from her childhood. She turned around in a slow circle and saw recent pictures that looked to be taken with a surveillance camera. She frowned when she saw an 'x' marking Kenny and Jimmy out of the pictures. She bit her bottom lip nervously and turned towards the now closed door and cocked her head to one side. She knew she needed to come up with a plan or she would never make it out of there alive.

* * *

Kim looked at her father and could feel the disappointment that was in the air. She wanted so badly just to make everything up to him but she could already tell that was going to be harder to do then when she made mistakes before. He had been hurt by her actions and had nearly lost his life. Now one of his deputies was missing and she might not make it back alive and well.

* * *

Jimmy studied his daughters face and tried to think of what he wanted to say to her but there were no words that would come to mind. He couldn't remember a time when he had been so disappointed in one of his kids before. He turned his head away so she wouldn't see the look in his eyes as he thought about his only daughter.

* * *

Maxine studied the walls around her and felt the chills run up and down her spine. This man had been after her for years it seemed and she had never known it. She looked down at the ground and tried to think of what she could have possibly done to make him so angry with her. Had she teased him in school? Did she stand him up for a date? She couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried.

* * *

He watched her struggled to come to terms with the fact that she would always be his and nothing she said or did was going to change that. He knew that Kim would eventually betray him and rat him out but by then he would deviate from the original plan that he spoke with her about. He turned the lights on dim so that it would appear romantic to Maxine, she was always a sucker for romance and this would be her last chance for any romance. Later on in life she would have to do everything he said no matter if she wanted to or not.

* * *

Kenny arrived at the scene of the last murder and looked around the taped off area. He wanted to see for himself that there really was no evidence on where he took Max. He gulped as he heard someone walk up behind him. He turned quickly and saw Kim standing there with her arms crossed in front of her. She looked like she had some information she wanted to give him but she wasn't sure if she could.

"Why did you help him Kim?" Kenny asked her softly.

"Because you never gave me the time of day anymore. It was always about Max or someone else and I hated it. Remember when we were going to date for real? Do you remember how hard it was for us to stand up to my dad but we did it together." Kim said softly.

"I love Max, Kim." Kenny said turning his back to her. "She might be carrying my baby and you're just helping this man kill her and kill my child."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. Someone was supposed to rescue her and make her fall in the love with him. That way Max wouldn't care about you anymore and I could have you." Kim admitted with tears falling.

"You'll never have me Kim, you'll be lucky if you manage to stay out of jail at this point." Kenny said turning quickly and staring at her with hatred in his eyes. "We could try and make a deal. You help me find Max and I try and help you stay out of jail."

"I know where she will be until the day I was supposed to really confess." Kim said softly. "She's in a warehouse down on Main Farm Road."

"You're sure?" Kenny asked her seriously.

"Positive." Kim said with a sigh.

Kenny took off running towards his cruiser and talking into his radio to dispatch. He wanted only his most trusted deputies dispatched to the scene. He hit the lights and siren and headed towards the warehouse, praying that for once Kim was telling the truth and that Max was there.

* * *

Max could feel his eyes boring into her as he walked over to where she was huddled on the ground. Her feet were chained to the middle of the floor and her hands were still bound behind her. She put the best look of disgust on her face as she could muster and turned her head away from him. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was afraid of him.

* * *

Kenny turned of all his lights and the siren as he led the cruisers into the parking lot of the warehouse. There were no visible lights on from the front but that could just mean they were in the back, or Kim had lied again and he wasn't going to find Maxine here. He got out of his car silently and looked at his other deputies and nodded his head. They were all aware that this was a delicate situation and that they were to approach with extreme caution.

* * *

Maxine's ears were as sharp as a dog. She heard the footsteps outside the door and she sucked in a deep breath. She wasn't sure who was outside but whoever it was she was going to make sure no one else got hurt because of her.

* * *

Kenny could hear voices coming through one of the doors and he nodded to his deputies this was it, this was the moment he was waiting for. Silently he ticked the numbers off his fingers and then kicked in the door.

"Sheriff's Department don't move!" He shouted as he pointed his gun. He saw the gun but before he could react he heard the shot and then he knew no more.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Sorry it took so long for an update! I know you have been waiting patiently but I was hospitalized twice and had a few surgeries. I am still pretty sick but I thought I should try my best to get here and update this for you. Again sorry for the delay!

* * *

Chapter 18

Max sat rocking back and forth in the chair next to Kenny's hospital bed. Anxiously she watched his face for any sign that he was coming around. She bit her bottom lip as she reached her hand out to grip his as she flashbacked to what happened in the warehouse.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Max looked up as she heard someone coming down the hall. She watched the door open and saw Kenny walk in with his gun drawn._

_"Sheriff's Department don't move!" He shouted and then she watched as her captor turned and shot him. _

_"No!" She screamed as she jumped up and tried to tackle the man so she could get to Kenny. He punched her and then realized their were cops crawling all over the place._

_"They will never catch me!" He shouted as he ran towards a solid wall. _

_Max wasn't paying attention as she tended to Kenny, thinking that he probably just knocked himself out. As deputies swarmed in she pointed towards the wall but he had already disappeared. They found the hidden passage and some of them searched while other's helped her tend to Kenny. _

_There was so much blood, the bullet had gone through his bullet proof vest. She looked down as the paramedics came and saw Kenny's blood soaked through her blouse. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of feelings. _

_End Flashback_

* * *

Jimmy looked at his wife and shook his head. His heart was refusing to accept that his little girl had anything to do with the tragedies that this town had suffered. He stared down at the ground and then turned back to the pictures he had been studying. Where had he gone wrong with her? Was it something he did? Was it something he didn't do? He sucked in a deep breath and racked his brain for any sign's of what he had done so badly that had cost him his daughter.

* * *

He looked at the people looking over their shoulders on the street. He felt like laughing because of all the things he was putting them through. They all believed he was going to just jump them in broad daylight. He was through with that for the moment. Now it was time to center on his real problem and what he really needed to deal with. But the first thing that had to be taken care of was Kimberly Brock. The stupid little girl ratted him out before she was supposed to and now she was going to have to pay for her little double cross.

* * *

Kim sat in her holding cell, waiting patiently for someone to get her out of there. She was biting her lower lip when she heard the heavy footsteps coming slowly down the hall. She frowned as she tried to think of who might be walking down towards her cell. The guard had already made his rounds and wasn't due for another 15 minutes. Someone else was in the jail and Kim was starting to get a bad feeling about why they might be in there.

* * *

Max looked up when she heard someone clear their throat and saw the new deputy standing in the doorway watching her closely. Rolling her eyes, Max turned her attention back towards the bed where Kenny was lying unconscious.

"Kenny if you don't wake up soon then I am certainly going to make you pay." Max whispered softly.

"Do you really think saying things like that will get him to open his eyes or even make him want to?" She asked her sarcastically.

"Was there something you needed?" Max asked her sharply.

"I wanted to let you know that I think it's wrong that you got yourself knocked up and you probably don't even know who the father is." The deputy said crossing her arms in front of her.

Max sucked in a deep breath and struggled with herself, the only thing she really wanted to do was get up and smack that stupid smirk of the woman's face. She was really going to have to talk to Jimmy about getting this woman transferred out of Rome.

* * *

The guard walked through the jail, checking all the cells and stopped short at Kimberly Brocks. His eyes widened as he sounded the alarm, there was so much blood, more blood than he had ever seen before. He managed to get into her cell in a few seconds and knelt beside her pale form. She had a pulse but it was weak and thready.

"Get the paramedics in here now. Someone call Sheriff Brock and let him know to meet us at the ER." He shouted out orders. Man was he going to be in big trouble.

* * *

He laughed as he watched the paramedics rush into the jail area to help Kimberly but even he could already tell them that she wasn't going to live for very long if she even made it to the hospital. Shaking his head he turned away and started for his car.

* * *

Jimmy and Jill rushed into the ER and ran to the first available nurse.

"I'm Sheriff Brock my daughter was brought in from the jail." He said quickly.

"Hasn't arrived yet." The nurse said with a shrug. "Take a seat."

* * *

Kenny could hear the voices around him and he tried to force his eyes to open but for some reason they refused to budge. He could hear Max most of all and by the sound of her voice she was upset. He tried to open his eyes even more but it was no use, they wouldn't budge.

* * *

Max was getting angrier by the second. This new deputy thought she was welcome in the room and had already taken a seat in the other chair. Max continued to take deep, slow breaths to keep from going off on the woman but it wasn't helping at all.

"Look why don't you just head back to the station. I am sure there is some work there for you to do." Max said evenly through clenched teeth.

"Nah I think I am needed here." The deputy said with a smirk. It was clear she was doing this all on purpose.

* * *

Kenny finally managed to open his eyes and he saw Max staring at the other side of his bed and so he turned his head slightly and saw the new deputy sitting there with a smirk on her face.

"What's…" He managed to get out with a croak.

"Kenny!" Max shouted surprised. "Thank god!"

"What happened?" He gulped.

"You were shot." Max said stroking his forehead.

"Get him?" Kenny asked confused.

"No he got away." The deputy spoke up.

"Damn." Kenny muttered before he smiled at Max. "Is the baby mine?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jimmy sat with Jill in the hospital room where Kim was handcuffed to the bed. He stared at all the machines that were keeping her alive and shook his head solemnly. He couldn't believe that after everything that this was where his little girl ended up. How was it at all possible that his daughter could get herself into this type of situation? He looked at Jill who had her head bowed and already felt worse. She had just finished staying by his bedside and now she was stuck by his daughters. Someone was really going to pay for this and he was going to make sure of it personally.

* * *

Max stared at Kenny for the longest time, debating on whether or not to answer his question with that horrible deputy still in the room. She glanced at the other woman, hoping she would leave but found her adoring eyes focused solely on Kenny. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back towards Kenny and smiled slightly.

"Do you even need to ask that question Kenny? Of course the baby's yours." Max said with a smile. "There isn't anyone else I would ever consider having a child with." She whispered as she saw joy light up his eyes.

* * *

Kenny couldn't describe what he was feeling if anyone ever asked him to. He could tell that Max was a little hurt that he had asked the question in the first place but he thought it was legitimate. He reached out for Max and tried to pull her close but she was hesitant. He looked over at the female deputy in the room and saw the scowl on her face. He frowned and tried to think of something to say that would get her out of the room because he could tell she was making Max uncomfortable.

"Hey maybe you should check and see what's going on with the search for our suspect?" Kenny said to her hoping that giving her an assignment would make her leave but she just shook her head.

"Sheriff Brock has given that task to someone else already." She said with a smile. "My job is to make sure that you are safe and that he doesn't try and come after you."

"Doesn't that mean you are supposed to be guarding the door?" Max asked with an arched brow.

"Nah, he said I could sit in here and keep everyone company." She said not taking the hint.

* * *

Max felt ready to jump out of her seat and smack the woman but instead she smiled politely and just looked at Kenny.

"I am not feeling well anyway so I think I am just gonna head out." Max said slowly getting to her feet.

"No way are you leaving here." Kenny said shaking his head. "You are in just as much danger as I am, probably more. You are going to stay here until I am able to make sure you're safe."

* * *

As soon as Kenny finished speaking he knew it was the wrong thing to say to Max at that moment and he could see it in her eyes. She was as angry as she had ever been at the prospect that he didn't think she could take care of herself. He gulped and tried to think of an explanation to what he had just said but failed to think of one. He sank back into the pillow on his bed and sighed, realizing he had mishandled this whole situation drastically.

* * *

Jill walked down the hall until she found Kenny's room and entered.

"Hey look whose awake." She said softly not noticing the tension in the room.

"Hey Jill." Kenny said relieved that she chose that moment to visit. "It's great to see you."

"Yeah you to." Jill said smiling. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was all right in here."

"Well Max was just about to kill Kenny but other than that everyone's great." The new deputy said with a bitter voice.

"What happened now?" Jill asked with a sigh of resignation.

"Kenny doesn't think I can take care of myself or our baby." Max said not realizing what she had just blurted.

"You really are pregnant? The baby is Kenny's?" Jill asked shocked. "This is great news! Are you two getting married? This might cheer Jimmy up a little, maybe get him away from Kim for a little bit."

"Kim? I thought she was in jail." Kenny said confused.

"Someone attacked her there." Jill said sobering up. "She's in the prison wing of the hospital."

"Is she going to be all right?" Max asked confused on why Kim had been arrested in the first place.

"They aren't sure yet. Let me tell Jimmy all of this, do I get to tell him you two are getting married as well?" Jill asked with hope in her eyes.

"No!" The new deputy all but screamed.

* * *

Three pairs of wide eyes turned in her direction and saw nothing but hatred shining on her face. There was something different about her since Jill had entered the room, something neither of them had known existed and something neither of them could have predicted. They all stared at her unsure of what she was going to say or do next. Unsure if they were ready to find out what was next on her agenda.

* * *

Kenny was shocked to hear the new deputy yell like that. He had told her earlier that he had plans to marry Max and so he wasn't sure why she reacted like that. A frown formed on his face and he glared at her.

* * *

She could tell they were shocked at what she said and how she said it but she was tired of pretending. She wanted everyone to know the truth and now was the time to tell them everything. She let herself calm down slightly as she watched all of their faces as she thought of the right words to say what she had to say. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out of it, something that would change everyone in this room. She grinned as she started to speak.

"The reason you can't get married is because…"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Max gulped as she looked at the deputy unsure of what she was about to say or show to them. She glanced at Kenny to see his face was already pale. She could tell that Kenny was starting to get scared himself and that he had a feeling of what it could possibly be.

* * *

Kenny stared at the deputy unsure of what she was about to reveal. He was racking his brain, trying to think of something that would be able to keep him from marrying Max but he couldn't think of anything. He glanced over at Max to see her studying him and gulped already seeing that his face reflected fear.

"Well aren't you going to finish what you were about to say?" Jill asked with her arms crossed in front of her.

"I was saying that they can't get married because Kenny is already married to someone else." The deputy said with a smirk.

"I don't even know you." Kenny said confused.

"I never said you were married to me." The deputy pointed out as she pulled some paperwork and pictures out of her back pocket.

"I don't remember ever getting married." Kenny said shaking his head as he looked over everything with confused eyes.

* * *

Max wasn't sure how she was feeling, she only knew that she needed to leave that room at that moment. She sucked in a deep breath and walked slowly out, feeling nauseous. She could hear Kenny calling for her to return but she just couldn't go back in there at that moment. She couldn't believe that if all this turned out to be true that she had slept with a married man and was now having his baby. It made her feel like a horrible person and she wasn't sure what she was going to do if it turned out to be true. She knew that she should have stayed in that room and found out all the facts but at the same time she knew she couldn't be in that room right now and she couldn't stand to look at Kenny's confused face and know that there was a possibility he was untouchable to her.

* * *

Kenny looked at the pictures and frowned trying hard to remember when they were taken. He shook his head as he read over the paperwork and knew that Jill was studying him carefully. He put them aside and arched a brow at the deputy standing there and tried to assess her to see if this was all bogus or not. A part of him truly believed that she was telling the truth but another part reminded him that he would know if he were married.

* * *

He laughed silently to himself as he saw Maxine leave the hospital with a hurt and pained look on her face. He had to admit it hurt to see her in pain but at the same time he enjoyed knowing that Kenny wasn't making her as happy as she thought he might. He waited until she was as far away from the door as he could stand before he started to walk towards her. He knew that as soon as she saw him she would make a break for the door again and probably scream for help. He was halfway to her when he saw Sheriff Brock walking towards her.

"I'll get you Deputy Stewart, just you wait and see, I will get you." He whispered as he backed off.

* * *

Jimmy had been called by Jill and informed of everything. He saw Maxine walking briskly through the parking lot and jogged to catch up with her. He winced in pain since he was still healing but was grateful that he had long legs to catch her.

"Max wait." Jimmy said as he finally caught up with her.

"What?" Max asked as she let all the confusion show on her face.

"Don't you think you should stick around and let Kenny talk to you about this? I think he is just as confused as you are about this sudden revelation that just popped up out of nowhere." Jimmy said softly.

"Revelations? This whole time there has been nothing but revelation after revelation. Kenny has feelings for me, a guy is killing pregnant women and is really after me, I'm pregnant and now Kenny is married? I can't take much more of this stuff." Max said as she finally released all the emotions inside of her. "Why is it that nothing in my life can run smoothly?"

"Don't you think that there might be a mistake with this whole marriage thing? I mean Kenny doesn't remember tying the knot with anyone maybe there is a mix-up or something." Jimmy said trying to think of something. "Look why don't we go back inside the hospital, head back to Kenny's room and then see if we can't figure this whole thing out."

"I want to because I love him Jimmy but what if…" She trailed off as she saw the look of determination on his face. She smiled a small smile and followed him inside, knowing it was useless to argue with him at that moment.

* * *

He laughed as he held onto the one thing that would make Max give up on Kenny. He smiled as he watched from the hallway, where no one bothered him, at the scene unfolding inside the hospital room. He thought it was a little strange that no one seemed to notice him staring into the room and eavesdropping but apparently it wasn't to uncommon. He shook his head as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

* * *

Max listened closely as the woman she couldn't stand at all started to describe everything, including the wedding. She turned her attention to Kenny at some points to see if any of this even triggered anything in his mind but he shook his head that he had no clue what was going on. Max frowned as a new thought popped into her head and a smile started to spread over her face. She turned her attention to the deputy and crossed her arms in front of her.

"So if Kenny is married to this woman, then why isn't she here to claim him?" Max asked simply already seeing the quick look of panic that crossed the deputy's face. That look told Max there was more to the story than the deputy was saying and apparently they were all about to find out about it. "Please tell us." Max whispered just as a loud noise from the hallway drew everyone's attention and Max's eyes widened with fear.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Kenny glanced quickly towards the door to see what she was so upset about and his eyes widened as he recognized the face there. He could see that the man was torn between running or trying to figure out what to do now that he had been spotted. He felt Max's tight grip on his shoulder and could tell she was trying to force herself to stay in the room.

* * *

Jimmy saw the pale look on both his deputies faces and turned in time to see a flash outside the door before a nurse hit the ground hard. Frowning he turned towards his other deputy in the room, the only one not injured and cocked an eyebrow to figure out why she wasn't already in foot pursuit. She shook her head slowly and pointed out that it was useless and that the suspect was probably already long gone.

"We're going to have a chat about your slow reflexes." Jimmy muttered angrily to the woman.

"I want to know what gives you the right to come in here and saw Kenny is married to some woman, why isn't she here like Max asked you." Jill asked with her arms crossed in front of her.

"She couldn't come." The deputy said with a pale face.

"Is she deceased?" Jimmy asked with an arched brow.

"No." The deputy quickly shook her head. "Look she wasn't sure whether the marriage was legal or not. It had something to do with an undercover sting operation stationed here in Rome."

* * *

Kenny started laughing as he remembered what she was talking about. His laughter was so loud it shocked everyone in the room and caused Max to jump back from the bed. He looked at her face and saw a cloud of confusion in her eyes.

"Jimmy should know what that is. I wasn't the one she fake married for that sting, it was Tony Larson." Kenny said as he glanced at the certificate and realized what it said. The name had been crossed out and changed and there were traces of white out to show it was tampered with.

"I remember, it was the bride and groom bandit." Jimmy said nodding his head. "You did have a fake wedding that weekend only you married Max."

"It wasn't fake though." Jill pointed and then clamped her mouth shut as Jimmy winced.

"Huh?" Max asked really lost and confused.

"That's what I want to know." Kenny said turning his attention to the Brocks.

"We thought it would be a funny joke to actually have to two get married for real, although we didn't tell you. We wanted to see how long we could keep the charade going." Jimmy said with a wince.

"So Kenny and I are technically legally married?" Max asked starting to feel her temper rise to the surface. "That means he has been cheating on me with all those girlfriends?"

"You cheated on me with your last serious boyfriend." Kenny said hotly.

"I never slept with him hotshot. Newsflash, you're the only guy I have slept with in the past year and six months." She blurted out and then winced since she hadn't planned to reveal that information. "I am out of here." She said so angry with everything that had been revealed that she decided she just needed some time to herself.

* * *

Max was walking down the corridor of the hospital, to afraid to walk outside by herself but to angry to walk back into Kenny's room. A part of her felt relieved to hear that her marriage to Kenny had been real and that she was technically married to her child's father but a part of her was angry because that wedding had been part of a sting operation and it was not how she wanted her wedding to be. She groaned as she realized that this meant the whole time she was fighting what she felt for Kenny, she was already tied to him legally.

"How can Jill and Jimmy think that keeping something like that from us would be okay?" Max whispered to herself as she sat down on a chair and looked up to see where she had managed to wonder off to. She smiled as she realized she at the maternity ward and could see all the babies. She placed her hand on her still flat stomach and looked at all the little ones and tried to think of what her baby was going to look like.

* * *

He watched her sitting there looking at the babies, rubbing her stomach softly. He wanted to puke but at the same time he wanted to make her suffer. He could tell that she was getting emotional and when Max was emotional she did stupid things and lost all her senses. She wouldn't be the same smart cop, she would be an irrational emotional wreck and that would be the best time to make his move. He was waiting patiently when his plan was foiled again by that damn Sheriff's wife walking towards Max.

* * *

Max looked up when she heard footsteps approaching and saw Jill walking slowly towards her like she was unsure whether she would be welcome or not. Max was surprised to find that she was relieved to see Jill, rather than angry. Sighing she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in and nodded towards Jill, giving her the okay that she was willing to listen.

"I know you're mad and you have every right to be…" Jill started but stopped when Max lifted her hand and shook her head.

"I was angry, but I think a part of me is also relieved. I honestly don't know what I want to feel or what I even do feel right now Jill. I know I am confused over everything that is going on and I know I am scared to have a baby when I feel like I am nothing but a screw up to begin with." Max admitted softly. "What if I am no good at this whole maternal thing?"

"Max I have a feeling you and Kenny are going to make great parents." Jill said smiling as she put her arms around Max's shoulders. "I also think you two are going to be a great married couple, now that you know you are married to each other."

* * *

He felt the rage build as he heard the words that were being spoken. No way was Max married to that deputy. Oh now he was ready for the ultimate evil plan, now Max would pay dearly. 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It had been a month since the whole thing had happened. No one had heard from the killer but that didn't mean he wasn't still out there. Max looked up as Kenny walked in the door, a return trip from the grocery store. They had decided to live in Max's house since a house was better for a child at the moment. Max shook her head as she watched Kenny walk into the kitchen without saying anything.

"Are you still mad at me?" She asked following him into the kitchen.

"What do you think?" He shot back at her before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Max to put away the groceries.

* * *

Kenny sat down in the bedroom and looked at the report he had been working on at the station before he had decided to come home early and surprise Max. She hadn't been home and instead went back to the warehouse where that maniac had nearly killed him, looking for some sign that he was around or anything. He had been so scared that something had happened to her.

* * *

Jimmy looked at Kim who was still on life support after the attack at the jail house. He could see her outside injuries healed but the doctors could not figure out why she was still in a coma.

"There is no medical reason for her to still be unconscious Mr. Brock." The doctor had told him.

* * *

He laughed as he got himself ready for his comeback and revenge. So everyone thought they were safe now that he hadn't attacked in a month, that was the plan after all. He continually paid visits to Kimberly Brocks bedside to make sure she stayed unconscious but as of tonight, she would not survive just like Maxine Stewart.

* * *

Max finished putting away the groceries and called for pizza since she didn't feel like cooking. She sat down on the couch and contemplated going in the bedroom to talk to Kenny. They had yet to talk about what they thought of their marriage and the baby and she was starting to think he resented her for being pregnant. She bit her bottom lip and looked towards the closed bedroom door.

"Kenny can you please come out here and talk to me?" She called towards it.

* * *

Kenny heard Max calling for him but was still to angry to even face her at the moment. He kept thinking of that one moment where he thought he may have actually lost her and there was nothing he could do about it. Sighing he started pacing back and forth in the bedroom and glanced at the clock on occasion. He wasn't sure why Max never called out to him again but he finally decided it was time to go and talk to her.

"Max?" He called as he walked out of the bedroom. He frowned when he noticed the living room was empty, along with the kitchen. He walked into the spare bedroom and even checked the bathroom but there was no sign of Max. His mind fled into panic mode again until the front door opened and she walked inside holding a pizza in her hands.

"Look who finally decided to stop pouting." She said sarcastically. She walked past him and into the kitchen, completely unaware that she had made him panic again.

"Do you realize that every time you disappear like that without letting me know I start to panic?" He nearly shouted walking into the kitchen behind.

"You are not my boss Kenny, get over it." Max said starting to get angry. She could see him freaking out about her going back to the warehouse but picking up a pizza was a whole different story. "You have no right to sit there and treat me like I am not a cop. I am a Deputy Sheriff Kenny, that means I carry a gun and get into dangerous situations."

"Not while you're pregnant!" He shouted.

"It's none of your business what I do." Max said shouting right back at him.

"You're carrying my baby, it is to my business." Kenny said crossing his arms in front of him. "Not to mention you are my wife."

"Not by choice." She shot at him with a sarcastic tone.

"So that's what this is about is it? You don't like the fact that you are my wife and you're having a baby right now." Kenny said with an angry scowl on his face. "What is a baby inconveniencing your career?"

"I can not believe you just said that to me!" Max shouted at him feeling the tears well in her eyes.

"What? It's the truth Max and you know it." Kenny said leaning against the wall because he was feeling even angrier.

"You know what Kenny, I am not having this conversation with you right now." Max said as the tears fell from her eyes.

* * *

Kenny watched her run from the room with tears streaming down her cheeks and felt the guilt rise up in him. He knew some of the things he said were out of line but it was the way she was making him feel at that moment. He started to go after her when the doorbell rang and he changed directions.

* * *

He laughed as he heard the entire fight from underneath the kitchen window. So there were martial problems already were there? He could probably use this to his advantage if he really wanted to. Shaking his head he headed around the house towards the bedroom window and peeked inside to see Max sitting on the bed crying. He pulled the gun that shot sleeping darts out of his pocket and pushed the window open just a little.

* * *

Kenny slammed the door shut after the heated conversation with the new deputy, Lana Jacobs. He felt the anger rise inside his system as he headed into the bedroom only to see the barrel of a gun pointing at Max from the window.

"Max look out!" He shouted as he dove and tackled her to the ground just as the gun went off shooting a dart.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Max felt Kenny on top of her and could feel his heat beating in double overtime as he kept her pinned to the ground. She could tell he was watching something from the window and knew that he was checking to make sure it was safe to let her up.

"Kenny?" She whispered softly.

Kenny looked down at her with wide and frightened eyes. He stroked her hair before kissing her forehead and letting her up slowly. "Are you all right? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, we're fine." She said placing her hands on her stomach.

* * *

Kenny jumped to his feet and headed over to the window where he had seen the gun. Looking out he didn't notice anyone but decided to call in backup anyway, it was possible they might find some evidence near the window. He picked up the phone that was sitting beside the bed and dialed the station house. After relying the information he quickly walked over to where Max was now sitting and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry about what I said in the kitchen." Kenny said softly realizing things could have been a lot worse.

"You have to trust me Kenny. You have to trust that I know what's best for me and that I won't do something that will harm the baby." Max said looking at him still a little hurt by what had happened in the kitchen.

"I know but you have this way of forgetting that you aren't invincible and going out and getting yourself into dangerous situations. I don't have to remind you of your psychiatrist that you ended up sleeping with that physically attacked you at the station? Or the time you were bitten by that snake?" Kenny pointed out.

"Kenny I have made mistakes, everyone does, but that doesn't mean that I won't try and be safe when I am pregnant." Max said with a sigh.

* * *

He banged his fist against the wall in frustration. Kenny was getting in the way to many times at this point. There had to be some way to get rid of the interfering jerk. He looked at the pictures on his wall and studied them hard. He was going to find a way to get Max back with him and he was going to do it soon. She was going to have to see that he was the one for her whether she liked it or not.

* * *

Jill looked up as Jimmy walked in the room and she smiled. They had been taking turns sitting with Kimberly lately because Jimmy had a bad feeling about her. Jimmy must have come straight from the office because he was still in his Sheriff uniform. Jill vacated the seat she was sitting in and allowed Jimmy to take it.

"I better get home to Matthew and Zachary before they think we have completely abandoned them. They want to come in and see her you know?" Jill said softly.

"Not until she looks a little better." Jimmy said shaking his head. "Kim wouldn't want them to see her like this."

"She may not get better Jimmy." Jill said sighing with frustration. They had been having this same argument for over a week now but Jimmy was convinced that Kim was going to wake up and she was going to be just fine. "And if she does get better she is going to end up back in jail anyway." Jill reminded him.

"I know but she also may be able to help us figure out why this guy wanted Max so bad, or still does I should say." Jimmy said leaning back in the chair.

"What do you mean still does?" Jill asked sharply.

"He attempted to shoot her with some sort of dart tonight. If Kenny hadn't been there then we would have a missing deputy on our hands." Jimmy said shrugging his shoulders.

* * *

He listened at the hallway doorway to the Brocks and felt the hatred seep into him at the mere mention of Kenny's name. He was angry that he wouldn't be able to kill Kimberly Brock tonight but he would find a way at some point. He would make sure that Kimberly Brock never opened her eyes again and he would make sure that Kenny was out of the picture completely soon. He just needed a little more time to come up with a plan that would take care of all his problems at the same time.

* * *

Max watched everyone moving around her bedroom and could see the shadows outside as they tried to collect evidence. It made her nervous that everyone at the station now knew what her bedroom looked like, or would once someone went back and blabbed it. She looked around the room and noticed that Kenny wasn't around and she frowned trying to figure out where he could have gone off to. Shaking her head she got off the bed she had been sitting on for the past hour and walked out into the living room to find Kenny standing there watching the new deputy work.

"Hey there you are, I have been looking for you." Max said walking up to Kenny.

"They're almost finished here and then we can have our house back." Kenny said smiling as he put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close.

"Then we can finish our discussion?" Max asked.

"Then we can finish our discussion." Kenny nodded in agreement.

* * *

The call came over the radio and Jimmy felt his eyes widen with fear. This couldn't possibly be happening. He walked to the door of Kim's room and looked around at everyone that was running trying to get patients set to be evacuated. Portable machines were being hooked up to those on life support and Jimmy waiting until someone ran into the room to hook Kim up. Jimmy pulled out his cell and called Kenny's house.

"Hello?" Max answered on the second ring.

"I need every deputy at your house, including Kenny, to head down here to the hospital, there's been a bomb threat." Jimmy said quickly into the phone.

"All right we'll all be right there." Max said before she hung up.

* * *

Max turned around and looked at everyone around her.

"Listen up, there's been a bomb threat at the hospital everyone is to go down there." Max said as she headed for the lockbox in the bedroom to get her gun and hand Kenny his.

"You're not going." Kenny said following her into the room.

"I can help evacuate the patients Kenny." Max said stubbornly.

"You're pregnant, you're not going to a place that could have a bomb in it." Kenny said crossing his arms in front of him.

Max stared at Kenny wanting to smack him do badly. It was clear they had a standoff.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Max stared at Kenny for a few moments before she turned and continued towards the lockbox. When she got there she unlocked it and handed Kenny his gun, since he had followed her and grabbed hers. She stared at him with angry eyes and then walked out of the room altogether. She headed straight for the door, completely ignoring the stares from the other deputies and Kenny's repeated shouts for her to stop. When she reached her car she felt a hand on her arm as she started to unlock the door.

"I want you to stay behind." Kenny said stubbornly.

"And I want you to quit embarrassing me in front of everyone we work with. Damn it Kenny, I am an adult and I am a cop." Max said getting really angry. "I am going to the hospital to do my job. There are infants that have just been born, pregnant women who are there because they are in labor and children who are really sick. I think I need to be there to help them out."

* * *

Kenny stared at Max with an angry scowl starting to darken his face. As much as he understood how much she needed to be able to be a part of police operations he couldn't understand why she didn't take care of herself and the baby above everything else and everyone else. He watched her eyes widen at something and he whipped around to see the deputy who seemed to be hounding him lately standing there.

"Kenny I'll meet you at the hospital. Don't forget to lock up the house." Max reminded him softly as she climbed into her car and started it.

* * *

He watched the panicked people running around as they tried desperately to evacuate the hospital and make sure that no one was left behind. He could see the faces full of fear and only wanted to laugh. He looked over as he heard a car screeching to a stop and watched as Deputy Maxine Stewart jumped out, solo. He smirked as he realized that Kenny was nowhere in sight.

"So now is my chance at you again Maxine." He murmured as he followed her inside the hospital. He watched her check in with the Sheriff who was running the evacuation and shook his head. "Maxine, you shouldn't have come here at all."

* * *

Lana watched the panic all around her and took a deep breath. Ever since she had been rescued she had been staying at the hospital. Everyone had been worried about the effect of exposure she'd had to the gas. Since she had been exposed more than anyone else she had been told to stay longer. She was five months pregnant and really scared at this moment. She punched in Kenny's cell phone number.

"Kenny." Came the gruff answer.

"What's going on?" Lana asked really frightened.

"I almost forgot you were still in the hospital." Kenny muttered into the phone. "Max is already there Lana, find her and she'll fill you in. If you can't find her within the next few minutes just get yourself out of the hospital."

"Kenny?" Lana asked still confused.

"Just trust me on this Lana." Kenny said into the phone. "I know you're scared but right now just find Max."

* * *

Max sat down in the chair next to Kim's bed. Jimmy had arranged for Kimberly to be transported out last and Max had agreed to sit with Kim until Jimmy could get back to her. She stared at the young woman who had helped the maniac kidnap her and then had helped Kenny find her. She wasn't all that sure what she felt for her at that moment but she turned herself into police mode. "A cop helps everyone no matter what they have done." She murmured to herself softly.

* * *

Kenny arrived at the hospital with the other deputies and everyone took a position. They had called in the bomb squad from a larger police unit and were waiting for them to get there. Kenny rushed inside the hospital and spotted Lana wandering around with a frown on her face.

"Lana?" Kenny asked rushing up to her.

"I can't find Max." Lana whispered still looking around.

"It's all right. Go ahead and leave the hospital all right. Someone outside will make sure you're safe." Kenny said patting her shoulder.

"I don't want to leave you." Lana said shaking her head.

"It's all right Lana, you're going to be all right." Kenny reassured his cousin.

* * *

Lana rubbed her slightly extended belly and then smiled at Kenny. She knew he was trying to make her feel better when he was probably freaking out. Max was 3 months pregnant herself and somewhere around this hospital. She headed for the doors to exit the hospital knowing it would be useless to argue with her cousin when he was in panic mode and right at that moment he was in that mode.

* * *

He watched her sitting beside Kim's bedside, studying her. Her short hair was red again, no longer the blonde color she had bleached it to. He could see that she was weary of being in the same room with the woman who had helped her get kidnapped in the first place. He was about to make a move when he heard footsteps heading his way. He glanced behind him and saw Kenny walking towards the room.

"Damn." He muttered to himself as he slipped into the room next door to hide.

* * *

Max looked up when she heard someone talking but didn't see anyone there. Frowning she got up and headed towards the door, peaking out in time to see Kenny heading her way. Sighing she stepped out and stood in the doorway, waiting for the confrontation she knew was coming.

"Let's get you out of here." Kenny said as he lightly grasped her forearm.

"Can't. Jimmy put me on Kimberly duty." Max said shaking his hold loose and pointing to the room she had just walked out of. "Kim's going to be the last evacuated."

"Well then, I will stay with her and you leave." Kenny said with an arched brow. "Do you really want to be in the same room with her?"

"No, but at the same time I am tired of you bossing me around. In a minute I am going to ask for a divorce and make you sorry you ever became an overprotective jerk." Max snapped and then walked back into Kim's room.

* * *

Kenny just stared after her and then walked away, realizing it was no use to argue with her at the moment, and feeling the anger building inside him. 


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Max sat staring at Kimberly's unconscious form and feeling a little anxious. She was starting to believe that there was someone there, watching her, waiting for her. She looked up and stared at the open door with an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. As annoyed as she was by Kenny's constant badgering she knew that he was only looking out for her best interest. She touched her stomach and smiled as she thought of the little life that was growing there, inside of her. She was going to be a mom and that scared her more than anything in the world, but knowing that Kenny was going to be there usually helped. Well, at least it did until he started being way overprotective. Sighing she leaned into the chair she sitting in and watched the door, waiting for Jimmy to come back and get Kim.

* * *

Kenny was pacing back and forth in front of the nurses station. He was getting angry at everyone and then he took a deep breath. He decided that pacing wasn't going to help the situation any and he started to help with the evacuation. He found Jimmy giving orders to some new arrivals and walked up to him.

"Pull Max off Kim, get her to help evacuate." Kenny said seriously.

"I would rather have her in one place." Jimmy said shaking his head. "Then I know where she is."

"So does this guy. She is a sitting duck." Kenny pointed out evenly. "Look if you want, I will sit with Kim, but put Max somewhere else."

"Did you talk this over with Max?" Jimmy asked him with an arched brow.

"Do you really think Max knows what's good for her right now? She is thinking like a cop and not like an expectant mother." Kenny snapped.

"You do know that I am your boss don't you?" Jimmy said arching his brow a little more.

"Look, Jimmy, my main concern has got to be Maxine right now. She is not only my wife but she is carrying my child." Kenny said changing his tone. "I can't think about how she is going to react to what's going on or what I am doing. I think after the baby is born she'll be grateful to me."

"I think you're delusional." Jimmy said shaking his head. "I am going to do this for your own good. Max will stay at her post but I am ordering you to stay with her. Tell her I want two guards on Kim because one of you will need to stay with Kim if this guy attacks and one of you will chase him."

"All right." Kenny nodded slowly. He figured this was better than nothing at all.

* * *

Max looked up as Kenny walked into the room and watched as he walked over to sit next to her. She smiled slightly when he didn't say anything and then sighed when he opened his mouth.

"Jimmy says we're both on guard duty. If this guy comes in here you're to stay with Kim while I try and take him down, deal?" Kenny asked, surprising her.

"Deal." Max said nodding her head. "I sure as heck wouldn't try and chase him."

"You wouldn't?" Kenny asked with a doubtful look on his face.

"Kenny, for whatever reason you think I am purposefully trying to put myself in harms way, you need to get over it. I am only trying to do my job. I am not going to let anything happen to this baby, all right?" Max asked blowing out a frustrated breath.

"Max…" Kenny started only to be interrupted by a noise coming from the doorway. He looked up and saw a man standing there, one he didn't recognize. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe. I was looking for Lana. You're Kenny aren't you? I saw a picture of you in Lana's room." The man said moving from one foot to the other.

"Are you the baby's father?" Kenny asked arching a brow.

"That still has to be determined." The man said with a sigh.

"Excuse me?" Kenny asked starting to get upset. He jumped up from his chair and then looked over when he saw Lana walk up behind the man.

"I saw you walk into the hospital. I don't know how you got yourself past the cops downstairs but you shouldn't be in here." Lana said with a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Lana I am busy trying to talk to this guy here." Kenny said interrupting her.

"Relax Kenny. The reason he doesn't know he is the father is because…" Lana said trailing off.

* * *

He was waiting patiently for a chance to get in the room. He could hear every word that was being said and had to laugh and smile. Kenny was certainly an overprotective person. Maxine seemed to be getting annoyed with him very quickly and if that's true than it was possible that she might take an unnecessary risk to get away from all his nagging. It seemed like his luck was finally looking up and he had a chance to finally win at something.

* * *

Jimmy looked over when he saw Jill running towards him. He sighed when he saw the concerned look on her face and had to grin. She was always worried about other people and putting herself in danger when she thought the people she cared about might be in danger themselves. He laughed when he saw her frowning when she finally reached him.

"Where's Kim? She wasn't outside." Jill said taking deep breaths.

"Max and Kenny are guarding her. I have arranged for her room to be the last one evacuated so that I can personally be by her side when it's done." Jimmy said as he watched more of the evacuations.

"Jimmy, Max shouldn't be in here." Jill said with an arched brow.

"We're talking about Max here. If you tell her that she is only going to get angry." Jimmy reminded her with a chuckle.

"True." Jill said nodding her head slowly.

* * *

Max watched Kenny's face, she already knew what he was about to hear. 


	26. Chapter 26

A:N: Hey sorry about the wait but I have been having some personal problems and also when I finally finished this chapter for some reason I couldn't log into the site to post it... finally I can and finally here it is.

* * *

Chapter 26

Kenny was waiting patiently to hear what his cousin's excuse for this guy was. He could already tell that she was in love with him and from what he could see it seemed like he was in love with her. He frowned a little when he realized this and tried to think on his own why he wouldn't think he was the father of that baby.

"Kenny this isn't something I really feel like discussing in the middle of a bomb scare." Lana finished deciding not to tell him at that moment. She wasn't sure how her cousin was going to react to the news that she was hiding.

"Lana…" Kenny started but then stopped realizing it was useless to argue with her at that moment.

"Kenny maybe you should just let Lana tell you when she's ready." Max whispered in his ear with her hand on his arm, comforting him.

* * *

He was waiting just to the left of the couple standing in the doorway, listening to the conversations going on inside. He felt like screaming as Lana stopped talking. He knew that whatever she had to say would have made Kenny let his guard down and he would have been able to sneak in and take Max without anyone noticing. It was even possible that what she had to say would have actually made him leave the room. He shook his head silently as he waited patiently for the opportunity to do what needed to be done. He looked down the hall as footsteps approached and cursed under his breath as he noticed Sheriff Brock heading towards the room. He wouldn't be able to get to Max inside the hospital he would just have to attempt it in the chaos outside the hospital.

* * *

Max watched as Kenny wrestled with the emotions he was clearly not used to feeling. She knew he was getting ready to argue again with his cousin but Max strengthened her hand on his arm, clamping it and squeezing tightly to let him know she wouldn't let that conversation go very far.

"Kenny I mean it, leave her be." Max whispered furiously in his ear.

Kenny glanced over at Max and then nodded his head slowly. He already knew he was pushing her far with the way he was being overprotective and he didn't want to risk any more problems on something that had nothing to do with them. He figured he could always get into this conversation with his cousin when Maxine wasn't around.

Max knew he wasn't serious when he nodded his head. She figured he was only trying to make sure she didn't get angry with him again and go off on her own. She sighed as she sat down again and looked up at Lana and the man standing in the doorway.

"You two should get out of here now." Max said slowly to the couple standing there. "Come over to the house later tonight, we can talk then."

"All right." Lana agreed slowly as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "We'll see you later on."

Max waited until she was sure they were gone and then noticed that Jimmy was standing in the doorway. She smiled at her friend and boss and motioned towards Kim.

"Nothing's happened. Is it time to evacuate her?" Max asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not yet. We'll probably attempt to do it soon though." Jimmy said simply with a small smile.

"Is the hospital almost clear?" Kenny asked starting to get nervous. If there really was a bomb inside the hospital than they were taking huge risks by taking as long as they were to evacuate.

"Yeah. One more floor to go and we'll be through. I'm gonna stand with Kim now, so you two can go out there. Max I am giving you an order to stay by Kenny's side no matter what, I don't care how angry he makes you. I have a really bad feeling that our guy is here and that he is waiting for a moment when he can get to you. Kenny being as overprotective as he is and making you mad would be the perfect chance to grab you." Jimmy said arching an eyebrow. "Make sure that you just smack him." He added with a grin.

Max smiled at his last comment and shook her head. "Smacking him would be a pleasure at the moment."

"Hey I'm not that bad." Kenny said frowning at the two of them.

Max and Jimmy both stared at him with looks on their faces that said it all.

"All right so sometimes I am a little to overprotective but can you blame me?" Kenny asked seriously.

* * *

Jimmy had to admit, although he would never say it out loud in front of Max, that Kenny did have a point. Max seemed to have a way of always getting herself hurt or into trouble and the fact that she was pregnant only made everyone want to keep a closer eye on her than before. Sighing he kept his mouth shut as he watched his two deputies leave his daughters hospital room. He walked over and sat down in the chair that Max had been sitting in earlier.

"Kimmy, I wish I knew what you were thinking. Why in the world would you get yourself involved with someone so horrible?" Jimmy whispered as he grasped his daughters limp hand. "You could have come to me if you needed something, you didn't have to take up with a criminal."

* * *

Jill stood off to the side of the chaos with the other doctors. They were all getting patient orders on who needed a doctor by their side the entire time they were outside of the hospital. Jill frowned as she realized Kim wasn't among the list of patients. She figured it had to be because of the crimes she had committed. She knew she couldn't question the hospital director and she definitely knew that even bringing the subject up in front of other personnel would only cause problems, so she kept her mouth shut for the moment.

* * *

He was in position and when the moment was available he would make sure he would take the opportunity to grab what was rightfully his. 


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Kenny and Max stood off to the side watching as the medical staff organized patients. They had tags that they were hanging around their necks that would show the severity of their conditions. Kenny had to smile at the angry look on Jill's face as she kept glancing towards the hospital. He wouldn't want to be Jimmy right now. Shaking his head Kenny turned his attention towards his wife who was staring off into the distance, with one of those looks on her face.

"Max, what's up?" Kenny asked with a frown.

"I'm not all that sure right now." Max said slowly.

"Well do you see something?" Kenny asked confused.

"No, I mean I see things but nothing dangerous or anything." Max said completely spaced out.

"Uh, Max, you wanna tell me what you're looking at?" Kenny asked as he placed his hand on her arm.

"Not really." Max said shaking her head no.

"Okay." Kenny said clearly confused.

* * *

Lana sat by herself, away from everyone including her boyfriend from school. She was really confused on what was going on and she felt sick to her stomach. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell Kenny what was going on and why Michael didn't know if he was the father or not. She didn't want to see the disgusted look on her cousin's face as he found out the secret she had hidden from everyone in her family. She had always prided herself on being open and honest and she wasn't able to be that at the moment.

* * *

Max could tell that Kenny was concerned about her but something in the back of her head kept flashing warning lights. She was staring at this one spot because her gut kept telling her that something was going to happen over there. She sighed when she felt Kenny squeeze her arm and she turned her attention back on him. She tried to give him a smile but her head was screaming with alarm bells and she quickly turned back to the spot and she saw a glimpse of a person running towards the road.

"Kenny is it just me or do you see someone running away?" Max asked pointing in the direction.

Kenny turned his attention towards the spot she was pointing to and didn't see anyone. He glanced at his wife with a worried look and shook his head.

"There isn't anyone there Max." Kenny said simply.

"There was a minute ago." Max said frowning at the ground. She then looked up and stared Kenny in the eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "I saw someone running Kenny."

"I believe you. Do you want me to send a deputy in that direction?" Kenny asked seriously.

"No, he's long gone." Max said shaking her head.

* * *

He was watching the exchange and felt his anger rising. He couldn't believe that Max hadn't run after the guy. That was what she always did, she was reckless and sometimes she didn't think. He could tell that even Kenny was confused on why Max hadn't started chasing someone that she had seen. Well fine then, if she wanted to stick close to her little lover boy then he was going to make them both pay.

* * *

Jimmy was walking with the evacuation team getting Kim's bed outside. He was holding on tight to the railing of her hospital bed when he heard her stirring beside him. He turned his head quickly so that he could look at her face. He watched as her eyes opened and she stared at him with a confused look.

"Kimmy, it's all right. You're going to be just fine." Jimmy said as he grabbed a hold of her hand, letting go of the bed railing.

"What's going on?" Kim asked confused.

"There's been a bomb threat at the hospital, but everything is going to be all right." Jimmy said as the team stopped in a designated area with Kim. He nodded as they left to go finish their other duties. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my head is about to explode." Kim said moaning softly.

"Well they can't give you any meds right now, so do you think you can hang in there?" Jimmy asked her stroking her hair.

"Yeah, guess I'm going to have to." Kim said slowly. "How's Max?"

"She's okay. She's standing over with Kenny right now." Jimmy said with a smile.

"You guys got her back?" Kim asked relieved.

"Yeah. Good thing to because her and Kenny are married and expecting." Jimmy said forgetting that she didn't know any of that.

"Really?" Kim asked her eyes going wide. "Kenny must hate me to then."

"No one hates you Kim." Jimmy said seeing how upset Kim was becoming.

"They have every right to. Honestly dad I don't know what I was thinking." Kim said as she plucked at the blanket covering her. "I don't know what came over me."

* * *

Jill walked over to where Jimmy was standing and smiled when she saw Kim was awake. As angry as she was with Kimberly, she was happy to see that she was awake and talking. She stopped walking when she was a few feet from the bed. She felt a chill running up her spine and turned around in a full circle, looking for the source. She felt a pair of eyes fixed on her but she noticed no one was looking at her. She turned back towards Jimmy and Kim and noticed they were still in deep conversation. Something was wrong here and she wasn't all that sure what it was.

* * *

Max was watching the nurses and mothers fussing over the babies that had been evacuated. This had to be a scary time for a new mother to be going through. She placed her hand on her abdomen and smiled as she watched a young woman pick up a brand new baby girl. She wondered if she was having a girl or a boy.

The explosion rocked the very core of the hospital. Windows were blown out and people were screaming as they ran to get away from the building. Max turned and looked at the broken glass streaming over everything. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and barely registered as someone picked her up to carry her away.

The hospital collapsed and debris was flying everywhere. The bomb threat had been real.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Kenny felt Max shaking in his arms and felt like he might be shaking himself. No one had been prepared for that explosion and the fact that it had happened only made them all a little more scared. Kenny said Jimmy covered in glass standing next to a shocked Kim and a pale Jill. He couldn't blame either of them for looking like that, but Max and he had been standing even closer to the hospital when it exploded. He felt the chill run up his spine as he realized how close he had come to losing his wife and child. He gulped as he hugged her closer to him and realized that Max wasn't just shaking, she was sobbing. Max never really cried like this. He squeezed her a little tighter and waited until she calmed down a little before saying anything to her.

"Max?" He whispered as he stroked her hair.

"I wanna go home Kenny." She said softly.

"Max, what's wrong?" Kenny asked as he pushed her away just far enough so he could look her in the eyes.

"I feel sick." She said holding her stomach.

Kenny saw how pale she had become and looked up and noticed Jimmy watching them. He motioned to Jimmy to send Jill over their way, something seemed a little off with Max.

* * *

Jill made her way over to where the couple were standing and frowned as she looked over Max. She pointed towards the ground, basically ordering Kenny to lower her down, and she knelt next to her to examine her. Jill shook her head with a sigh and motioned for a gurney to be brought their way.

"Shock." Was all she muttered, making Kenny even more anxious.

"Shock?" Kenny repeated stroking Max's hair back. "I knew she shouldn't have come here today."

"Shut up Kenny." Max said with her eyes closed. "I can still hear everything you say so watch it."

"She's not dead Kenny, she's just tired and overwhelmed. But for the babies sake I want to keep an eye on her, so we are going to send her to another hospital."

"Jill are the baby and her gonna be all right?" Kenny asked softly, scared out of his wits.

"Their gonna be fine Kenny." Jill said with a reassuring smile.

* * *

He was slamming his fist into anything in sight. How could he have been so stupid as to think Max would fall into his trap. She normally acted irrationally but it seemed that because she was pregnant she was thinking before acting. He nearly groaned aloud as he felt the pain searing through his arm and realized what was going on. He had probably just broken his hand on the cement in front of him.

"Well this is just great." He muttered to himself as he held his hand against his upper torso. "Now what am I gonna do?"

* * *

Max was resting comfortably in her new hospital bed and could feel Kenny's presence next to her. She felt like shouting at him to go home and rest but she was to tired to move a muscle herself. Max was getting more and more comfortable when she heard Kenny's voice next to her ear.

"Max just remembers that nothing bad is going to happen to you and the baby. I won't leave your side and I'm gonna make sure that this jerk doesn't get anywhere near you." Kenny murmured next to her ear.

Max wanted to shout at him that he didn't have to stay but even if she had the energy she knew it would be useless, he would only ignore her anyway. She felt Kenny grab her hand and she had to admit she felt more relaxed knowing he was going to be there to watch out for her and the baby. Max felt his grip tighten possessively and she smiled in her sleep. Having Kenny there meant so much to her, even if she would never actually admit that to anyone.

* * *

Jill watched Jimmy closely, knowing that he was over exerting himself but realizing he was worried about how it seemed his entire family was falling apart. The guilt over what Kim had done was eating at her husband and no matter what she couldn't seem to get through to him that it wasn't his fault. The fact that Kim had made her own decision didn't seem to matter at the moment to anyone.

* * *

The next day…

Max opened her eyes and studied her sleeping husband. She smiled softly as she realized he looked absolutely untouchable in his sleep. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and stroke his forehead but was afraid that if she did she would wake him up. Sighing she watched him for a little bit until she noticed the nurse walking slowly into the room. She could already tell that the nurse was nervous, she just didn't know what would make her nervous.

"Are you all right?" Max asked finally.

"I was just wondering something and I know that I am most likely going to lose my job but curiosity has gotten the better of me." The nurse said finally.

Max watched as Kenny started to awaken and winced. "What's up?"

"How come you didn't know you were legally married?" The nurse asked with her hands on her hips. "I mean wouldn't you have checked something like that out?"

"I think a part of me actually knew we were married but I didn't care." Max admitted softly.

"I knew." Kenny admitted.

"You knew?" Max asked whipping her head around to face him.

"Yeah." Kenny said nodding his head. "I knew."

" I can't believe you. I thought you were just as in the dark as I was. I thought that Jimmy had tricked us but now I find out that you knew all along that I was your wife! You dated all those other women and you let me date other men. You knowingly committed adultery and you let me commit it to." Max said getting furious.

"Here comes that temper of hers. If I were you I would book it out of her fast." Kenny warned the nurse who was already running for the door. "Max think about the baby and relax."

"If I weren't lying in this hospital bed I would beat the crap out of you." Max warned him. "Just you wait you are so gonna get it."

"There is something else you should know Max." Kenny said softly.

"What?"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Max was so angry that she could swear her face must match her hair by now. She could tell that whatever else Kenny was going to mention was only going to make her even more angry so she sucked in a deep breath, placed her hands over her stomach and attempted to calm herself down. She waited patiently, well as patiently as she could make herself feel, for him to continue on but something must have told him to stop talking because he stopped and just cocked his head to the side to stare at her.

"Kenny if you don't tell me whatever else you are hiding from me, I am calling an attorney and filing for a divorce." Max said evenly.

"Max, right now might not be the best time to inform you of everything." Kenny said biting his lower lip nervously.

"I beg to differ." Max said evenly. "You either start talking or start walking."

"Look right now you need to concentrate on getting better and keeping the baby healthy." Kenny said bringing the baby up. "When we are sure that you can handle what else I have to say then I will tell you."

"You are really getting on my nerves right now, hubby." Max said sarcastically.

"Well that's to bad wife." Kenny said back with a smirk on his face. "Look the truth of the matter is that right now you are the only one that I am worried about and I don't care who else gets involved in our lives. You and the baby are the only people that I am concerned with taking care of."

"You should be concerned about your pregnant cousin to Kenny. After all she was targeted by this psycho maniac to." Max pointed out with sigh. "Look I know your main focus has always been about me and the baby at this point but right now what I really want is for you to focus on getting this killer off the street. Not just for me and our baby but for the people of Rome."

"Wow isn't that a heartfelt speech." Came the voice from the doorway.

"Do you always barge in on other people's conversations?" Max asked annoyed.

"Whenever I want to, usually." Deputy Harkin said nodding. Harkin was a new deputy brought in to help on this case. Originally Harkin was from a totally different area.

"Look that isn't going to fly out here with us." Max muttered as she gave Harkin the evil eye.

"Who cares what you think." Harkin said shrugging. "Look I was sent here to inform you that Sheriff Brock needs all available Deputy's at the station house immediately."

"I seriously doubt that he sent you here to get me because he is going to want me to keep an eye on Max." Kenny said nodding towards his wife.

"Like bloody he.." Max trailed off taking a deep breath. "Kenny if you don't stop treating me like an invalid then I am going to have to kick your ever loving butt." She said with an angry scowel. "I am not a helpless young woman or did you forget that I have a badge to. Now you go see what Jimmy needs and I can take care of myself here. Look at it this way, it gets you out of confessing to some things now doesn't it?"

"Well I think the wife is the one that wears the pants in the family." Harkin said sarcastically.

"Who cares what you think." Max mimicked what he had said a few minutes ago. "How about you leave my hospital room before Kenny here blows a gasket and throws you out physically?"

"He wouldn't dare." Harkin said narrowing his eyes.

"Wanna bet." Kenny asked starting to rise from his seat.

"Whatever." Harkin muttered leaving the room with an angry scowl on his face.

* * *

Jimmy stared at the faces of his deputies around him and tried to think of a good way to inform them of the news he had just received. The FBI had decided to get involved in this case and were heading to Rome as he was sitting there debating about what to say. Sighing he glanced down at memo that he had received by Fax and just stared at the words written on the paper. He knew exactly what their reaction was going to be to the news he had to deliver but he had no say in the matter at hand.

* * *

He grinned with pleasure as he realized how his plan was about to come together. It was only right that he get even with all of them for everything they had done to him. It was time to make all of them pay for ruining his plans, including Max. He glanced at the photographs he had of Maxine and her husband Kenny and gave them the dirtiest look her could. He had a feeling that there was going to be a problem with getting close to Max unless he could separate the two of them. His plans were coming together nicely.

* * *

Max stared at the walls of her hospital room with disgust on her face. She had been trying since Kenny left to try and figure everything out that he could be hiding from her but it was no use. Sighing she slowly sat all the way up and glanced at the phone next to her bed. She wanted to call someone, anyone and talk to them but she didn't think anyone was available to talk.

"This is what happens when you aren't working." She muttered to herself.

"Talking to yourself again?" Deputy Harkins asked walking into the room.

"I thought Jimmy needed his deputies at the station." Max said sarcastically.

"He did, I don't officially work for him remember? I was just brought in for damage control and now you are my new assignment." Harkins said with a slimy smirk on his face.

"Oh sheesh Jimmy must really be mad at me for something." Max said with a groan. "You won't be sticking around for very long so don't get cozy." She warned him.

"I wouldn't be to sure about that." Harkins said shrugging his shoulders.

"Just wait, I will make sure you are gone if it's the last thing I have to do." Max said clearly annoyed.

"We'll see." Harkins said simply.

Max just stared at him with nothing but annoyance and disdain written on her face. It was going to be a long day if she had to spend it with him.


	30. Chapter 30

Ch. 30

Max was getting more and more annoyed with the deputy that she had been stuck with. She knew that Kenny was not going to be available to come back to the hospital at the moment because of whatever was going on with Jimmy but she still didn't see any reason for the majorly annoying, conniving and sneering deputy to be around her. She groaned as the door open and the subject of her thoughts appeared in the doorway with his sneer firmly in place. Max had pretty much had it with him.

"I think that it's time for you to leave." Max said with an angry scowl on her face, hoping it would get her point across.

"Not going to happen. I don't take orders from you, you're the assignment. I take orders from the sheriff and the sheriff only. Now I came in here to inform you that you had a visitor, she says she's the sheriff's wife although I doubt that's true." Harkin said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well then you should really learn more about people. You wouldn't want me to tell my husband that you were denying me access to a friend and patient because you thought I was lying about being his wife." Jill said with an evil look at the deputy.

"If I were you I would listen to her, she really is the wife of Sheriff Brock." Max said with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yeah and I'm the kind of England." Harkin snorted as he shut the door behind Jill.

"Who is that?" Jill asked Max with a confused look.

"A deputy from another county who was sent to us to help us out with this whole issue." Max said with a sigh. "He is really annoying me."

"I can tell you didn't seem all that thrilled to have to deal with him at the moment." Jill said with a slight laugh. "I might as well give you the heads up that Kenny is going to be in a horrible mood because the FBI is planning to step in and take over the case Max."

* * *

Kenny walked into the station house and could see the place was abuzz with chaos. He looked at all his friends and co-workers and knew that something was a miss just by the looks that they were sending him. He frowned as he noticed that they were giving him the eye as he walked towards Jimmy's office. Something was definitely wrong as he knocked on Jimmy's office door and then walked into the room.

"Hey, you sent for me?" Kenny asked taking a seat opposite his friend and boss.

"Yeah, the FBI is stepping in and they have asked me to talk to you personally." Jimmy said giving him a nervous look.

"Talk to me about what?" Kenny asked him confused.

"They wanted me to inform you that they are taking over the case and they want you to have only one purpose at this point. You are no longer allowed near evidence or anything to do with the investigation because of the fact that in court it could be seen as a conflict in interest." Jimmy said with a sigh. "The only thing they want you to do is keep an eye on Maxine and act as her security."

"I do that anyway." Kenny said annoyed. "This was my case before we even knew it was a serial killer or that he was targeting Max, why am I being pulled really?"

"Kenny I would prefer you to keep an eye on Maxine all right? Something tells me this guys isn't through with her and that there is someone on the inside that is helping him get closer and closer to her. I hate to admit it but I don't trust a lot of my deputies right now, especially not my new ones. The only reason I am giving Harkins the opportunity to keep an eye on Max is because the Sheriff highly recommended him and has told me he is the best he has." Jimmy said shaking his head.

"You think Max is in that much danger?" Kenny asked finally.

"I know she is." Jimmy said with a serious look on his face. "Something just feels so wrong about this whole case. I don't mean just because people have turned up dead or that my daughter has been involved, I mean because it has become one of the hardest cases to figure out."

Kenny studied his boss intently before he nodded his head and slowly got to his feet. As much as he wanted to be a part of what was going on with this case he knew that his focus needed to be on Max and the baby at the moment.

* * *

He was getting more and more annoyed with the way things were going. As often as he was able to get information it seemed his well had dried out. His inside informant had stopped answering his pages. He slammed his fist against the wall in complete and total frustration, he was going to have to find another way to get to his target. He was through with the games, it was time to get serious and when he got serious, he got really serious. Groaning he turned away from the wall, leaning against it he slid down till he was sitting on the floor. Maxine was about to learn that she had messed with the wrong person. They were all going to see that he was a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Max had a bad feeling as she looked up and saw Kenny walking into the room with a small smile on his face. She knew just by that look alone that she wasn't going to be happy with whatever it is that he had to tell her. She eyed him wearily as she heard Jill leave the room.

"Give it to me straight." She said simply.

"You are looking at your companion 24/7 until the FBI says so." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders.

Max stared at him and Kenny knew it was only a matter of time before she let him have it.


	31. Chapter 31

Ch. 31

7 months later…

Max sighed as she looked into the eyes of her daughter. The little one had been born just a couple of days before and was as gorgeous as everyone said she was going to be. Max had been in hiding since the FBI had taken over and the good thing was that Kenny was with her. She glanced up when she heard the door open and saw Kenny walking in.

"Hey." Kenny said as he sat down across from her.

"Hey." Max said with a smile. "Ella was wondering when her daddy was gonna get home."

"Well here I am." Kenny said simply as he leaned back into the couch.

"What happened?" Max asked with a sigh.

"The FBI decided it was time to end our stay in the protection program. They feel you can protect yourself better now that there isn't a possibility of you losing the baby. We've been ordered to return to Rome." Kenny said with a sigh.

"What about Ella? She is only a couple of day's old and can't protect herself." Max said concern rising in her.

"I know. I asked them what their plan was for Ella and they said that they were pretty sure they could protect her. They are setting up a special daycare center inside the Sheriff's station where any children of police officers involved in the case can play and be watched closely. They feel it's the best thing to do. Max since we left there has been no activity from this guy. They feel like there is no way that they can track this guy unless we return and help." Kenny said softly.

"They want to use me as bait." Max whispered as she slowly got to her feet. She passed Ella to Kenny and then walked out of the room to think. She had known there was a possibility that she would be needed as bait but she didn't honestly think that it was going to go this way.

* * *

He laughed as he listened in on the gossip around town. The rumor was that Kenny and Maxine would be returning soon now that the baby was born. He wanted to shout that it was now time for him to get everything he deserved. Maxine thought she was the coolest person. She thought that she was special and that she could get away with everything she did, but now it was time for her to realize that she was never going to see her daughter grow up. He would make her pay for rejecting him.

* * *

Jimmy sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stared at Jill. He could tell that she was getting nervous with the thought that the killer had been walking among them, untouched and completely free with no one knowing who he was. The idea to bring Max back was not his and he was furious. How can anyone think that putting a new mother and her helpless infant at risk was the right thing to do? Sighing he shook his head and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk.

"Jill I just want to know whether or not you think that there is any medical reason we can use to keep Max in hiding?" Jimmy said softly.

"There is nothing that I can think of right off the bat. The doctor that delivered the baby said there were no complications and that Maxine is in the best of health. I haven't seen her so I can't deny what he says. Jimmy the fact of the matter is that the FBI feels the only way to catch this guy is to bring Max and Kenny back, even if it means that she is in danger." Jill said with a sigh.

"Jill I just can't help but think this whole thing reeks. There is something sinister going on that I don't know about yet and I need to find it out and soon." Jimmy said sighing again.

* * *

A couple of days later Kenny and Max drove into the city limits of Rome. Max felt her stomach knot up and knew that he was around there somewhere watching her at that very moment. Her eyes scanned the crowd on the streets as they walked around. She looked over and noticed how tense Kenny was. She glanced at his hands and noticed how hard he gripped the steering wheel. His knuckles were white and his hands barely moved to turn the wheel.

"Kenny do you think he's around here?" Max asked softly.

"Yeah I do, somewhere." Kenny said shaking his head.

"You got your gun?" Max asked concerned.

"Yeah, and I have yours to." Kenny said surprising her. "The FBI dropped it off at the safe house and told me to make sure you started carrying it with you everywhere."

"Well then I guess it's official. I am now the bait for a serial killer that for whatever reason hates my guts." Max said with a sigh.

"I don't like this at all." Kenny said as he finally pulled up in front of their house.

"And I do?" Max asked sarcastically as she opened her door and was shocked when Jimmy and Jill came walking out of the house with a smile on their faces. "Let's be nice for our guests."

Kenny walked over to greet Jimmy and Jill while Max got baby Ella out of her carrier in the car. He smiled when his two favorite women joined him at the door. The four of them walked into the house with Maxine carrying Ella.

"She is adorable." Jill said with a smile. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure." Max said beaming. She handed Jill the infant and watched as she cuddled with her.

"Better be careful there Jimmy or Jill might want another little one running around the house." Kenny joked watching the two women eye the baby.

"She already does. Actually she has wanted one for a few years now but I keep telling her the three we already have are a handful enough." Jimmy said laughing.

"There is nothing like a newborn baby Jimmy." Jill said pleading.

"I'll tell you what, when we wrap up the case then we can talk about it but until then we have enough on our plate." Jimmy said softly.

* * *

He was ready to attack. He would leave Maxine a new present and make sure that she understood exactly what was going to happen to her. Just because she may have a husband and a baby, didn't mean she could get away with snubbing him. He was supposed to be her husband and the only man she had as the father of her children and now some innocent woman was going to pay just because he felt like making her pay. 


	32. Chapter 32

AN - All right everyone. I am sorry to say because of an immature and rude reviewer I have been forced to block all anonymous reviews. I welcome all signed reviews. I welcome people's views on the story however there are some things that cross the line. So I am saying if you can't offer a helpful review or have anything productive or nice to say then I don't understand the point of a review being given.

Again I am sorry to those nice and sincere anonymous reviewers who will suffer because of this but I am can not of have those immature reviews posted any longer by those who are trying to be hurtful.

* * *

Chapter 32

Max sighed as she put Ella in her new crib. She watched the infant close her eyes and attempt to fall asleep. Grinning she watched as she popped her eyes open again and stared at the mobile spinning around.

"Goodnight sweetheart." Max whispered as she stroked her head.

"She always looks so peaceful that it's hard to believe anyone can become evil enough to take lives." Kenny said from the doorway.

Max turned around and smiled at him. She walked over and gave him a small hug before walking completely out of the nursery and waiting for Kenny to dim the light and shut the door halfway. "I agree. But you have to think that the way they are raised and the things they go through in life have got to have something to do with what they become."

"Yeah but look at Kim." Kenny said as they walked back towards the living room with the baby monitor.

"Okay, I didn't say my theory was completely correct." Max grumbled as they entered the living room.

* * *

Jimmy and Jill were sitting on the couch in their house just staring at the fire in the fireplace. Both of them weren't sure what was going to be happening around Rome soon but the fact that Max and Kenny had an infant to think about made them feel sick to their stomach that someone may want to take her away or even hurt Max.

"Jimmy, we have to do something. We can't let this creep get his hands on Max or even Ella." Jill said leaning back into the couch cushion.

"I know that Jill. Kenny is on full alert at the moment and Max goes nowhere without a weapon. Ella is fully monitored with a camera in her nursery and motion sensors that go off if someone goes near the crib when they are activated." Jimmy said sighing.

"What good will those do? Max and Kenny won't activate those things, it will make them feel like they can't protect their own child, you know that." Jill said rolling her eyes.

"Max and Kenny know this isn't about how competent they are as parents or cops, it's about a sneaky serial killer who has been able to get into highly secure places. They will do what's best for their daughter in the end." Jimmy said shrugging his shoulders.

* * *

He was getting annoyed at the thought that he was getting nowhere. None of his inside contacts were giving him any useful information on how he could get the Maxine Stewart and her little bratty kid. He was going to make sure he got even with anyone who stood in his way. He was going to eventually get his revenge and he was going to make sure that no one stood in his way.

"Maxine you are going to pay for everything. You should never have chosen this creep instead of me. You are going to wish you had made a wiser decision because no one betrays me." He growled to the photograph hanging on the wall inside his newly rented place. He knew it was important for him to move around a lot or else he would risk being tracked. He had to make it look like he was someone else all the time or people would get curious and turn him in.

* * *

Max sighed the next morning as she watched Ella playing on the mat that was set up on the floor. Kenny had gone into the station to check out any new leads on the case and Max had agreed it would be best if she just stayed put with Ella because she was running a slight temperature. She glanced up at the door when she heard a knock and was about to say come in when she caught herself. "That would have been stupid Max." She whispered to herself as she bent down and picked up Ella before heading to the door with her gun in her holster on her hip.

"Hey Max." Jill said when she opened the door.

"Hey come on in." Max said stepping out of the way.

"Can I hold her?" Jill asked pointing towards the little girl in Max's arms.

"Sure but she isn't feeling well so she might be a little cranky." Max said as she handed Ella to Jill and shut the door. She locked it and then followed her friend into the front room where they both sat on the couch.

"She just feels a little warm. A little bit of baby Tylenol will help her out." Jill said with the doctor in her kicking in.

"Well then it's a good thing I gave her some." Max said with a little bit of a laugh.

"All right I know I sometimes can be more of a doctor than a friend but that can be helpful." Jill said as she cradled Ella in her arms.

"I know." Max said sighing.

"What's wrong?" Jill asked arching her eyebrow.

"I just can't help thinking that as long as this guy is out there Ella is never going to be safe and I am never going to get back to my normal life as a deputy sheriff." Max said with a shrug.

"Max with the FBI involved he will be caught." Jill tried to reassure her friend.

"The FBI has been involved for a few months and they have nothing." Max reminded her.

* * *

Kenny sat across from Jimmy in his office. He could tell that Jimmy was just as frustrated with everything as he was.

"Another body was discovered this morning." Jimmy said softly. "We looked into her identity and it turns out she has a past connection to Max."

"Someone she was close to?" Kenny asked trying to think of how he would break this to Maxine.

"No we don't think so. The problem is this guy has severely escalated." Jimmy said rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked with a frown on his face.

"She was tortured and brutally raped." Jimmy said with sorrow filled eyes.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Kenny walked slowly into the house he shared with Max and watched her play with Ella. He could see that she was exhausted and that this whole thing was taking a huge toll on her. He wished he could tell her that everything was going to be all right but he wasn't able to do that. He and Jimmy had decided that they should keep the newest connection a secret but Kenny was going to have to tell Max about the new kill. 

"Hey honey." Kenny said faking a smile as he kissed Max on the forehead and then gently rubbed Ella's forehead. "How are my two favorite girls?"

"Ella is feeling better and we got to spend some time with Jill so we are doing all right." Max said as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at him. "What's the matter?"

"What are you talking about?" Kenny asked as he took off his jacket and laid it over the back of a chair.

"You look like something is wrong." Max said arching her eyebrow at him.

"There was another body found. He has gotten completely out of control and everyone is getting worried." Kenny said rolling his neck to get out the kinks.

"What do you mean out of control? Kenny he was out of control the minute he killed for the first time. He was out of control when he tried to kill me. This guy has always been out of control." Max said leaning back into the couch and placing Ella up against her shoulder where she could rest her head.

"I know that. He has just done a lot more damage to the victim, before death." Kenny said hating that he had to tell her all of this but knowing it was important that she hear it from him.

"So what you are saying is that they are all suffering more now?" Max asked quietly.

"Yes." Kenny confirmed regrettably. 

* * *

He sat back in his chair and watched the chaos on the news. The people of Rome, Wisconsin were in full panic mode and it was all because of him. He was the one responsible for everything that was going on and it would be because of him that the people of Rome learned the truth behind their beloved Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart. He swiveled the chair so he was no longer facing the television screen but now staring at the shrine he had built to the one woman who always managed to elude him. Soon he was going to show her how wrong she was to mess with him and soon she would find out that he was the only one worthy of her love. 

* * *

Jill sat with Jimmy at the kitchen table. Neither one of them was talking as they drank their coffee and just stared at each other. This had become a nightly ritual thanks to the madman who was out there killing these women. Jill knew how exhausted and helpless Jimmy felt when he came home from the station and chose not to badger him about her own personal feelings. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a noise behind her and noticed her two sons standing there. 

"What are you two doing out of bed?" Jill asked sharply, realizing her heat was beating way to fast. 

"We just wanted to see dad. We never get to see him anymore because he is working so much." Her older son said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Well it's late and it's a school night. Just give him a hug and kiss and then head for bed." Jill said as she watched her sons wearily. She knew that the boys missed having their dad around as much as Jimmy missed being around but with a serial killer out there he had no choice but to work as much and often as he did. She knew that if the human body didn't need sleep or food he would work twenty-four seven but it did. 

* * *

Max tucked Ella safely into her crib and then sat down in the rocking chair that was in the room. She didn't want to leave her daughter in there alone. She glanced towards the doorjamb where Kenny was leaning and sent him a helpless look. In her whole life she had always gotten herself into trouble, making bad decisions or seriously dating the wrong guys. What if this was her punishment? She frowned as a new thought struck her, what if this was her punishment for not sticking with one of those bad decisions? 

"What if this isn't about those women?" Max whispered more to herself then to the husband who was staring at her with worried eyes.

"Max come on let's go to bed." Kenny said from the doorway.

"Kenny what if my past holds the key to solving these crimes?" Max said getting up really quickly and facing him but not walking towards him. She stood rooted to the spot she was standing unsure of the new thoughts that had entered her mind. "What if this is about a heart that I broke?"

"So someone is killing women to get even with you for breaking up with them?" Kenny asked thinking of the connection that had been discovered between Max and the last victim. 

"It makes sense if you really think about it Kenny. I mean look at what's been going on lately. What if this guy wants me because he feels like he owns me?" Max asked as her brain started turning round and round. "Maybe I need to sit down and really make a list of everyone from my past and see what we can come up with."

"Or maybe it has nothing to do with you and we would be chasing the wrong lead." Kenny said hoping to get her away from blaming herself. 

"Chasing the wrong lead? Kenny you have zero leads at the moment, this would be your only lead." Max said sarcastically. "We don't have a choice but to give it a shot, for Ella." 

"All right what do you got?" Kenny asked getting out a piece of paper and a pen. 

That night the husband and wife team made up a list of anyone who would feel entitled to her, but would their killer's name actually be on that list or not? 


	34. Chapter 34

* * *

Chapter 34

Max and Kenny rubbed their eyes and they finally woke up hearing Ella crying from the other room. Max yawned and then registering that it her daughter that was crying winced and jumped to her feet still half asleep. She made it into the nursery where her daughter was kicking her feet and screaming in her crib, it was clear she had been crying for a while.

"Oh baby, mommy is so sorry." Max said as she reached into the crib and pulled her out. "Oh honey you are soaking wet." Max said as she quickly got Ella's pajama's off and changed her diaper. "There we go, that's a little better." She whispered kissing her cheek.

"She all right?" Kenny asked yawning as he stood in the doorway.

"I can't believe we didn't hear her screaming." Max said feeling helpless and stupid. "I'm her mother, how could I not hear her?"

"You were exhausted trying to find a lead." Kenny said trying to reassure his wife.

"That's no excuse. What if someone had been trying to take her?" Max asked as that thought stuck her. "I need to learn to be a better mother to her, she deserves better than me."

"Max, honey, stop being so hard on yourself, all right." Kenny said with a sigh. "You are trying to keep her safe and everyone else in the city by finding a serial killer, I think you are allowed a mistake or two."

"But Ella deserves better than this." Max said crying.

"You're just really tired. Here let me feed her a bottle and you go crawl into bed and take a nap. Then after that I'll get some sleep. I can give Jimmy a call and fax him the list you made and tell him that I won't be in today." Kenny said taking Ella from Max. "Do you want to give her a bath this morning or tonight?"

"I think tonight. She is just going to get filthy today, besides I gave her one last night to help her cool down, Jill's idea." Max said as she noticed Ella calming down and snuggling into her daddy. "I guess I could use some more sleep. Okay we take turns getting some sleep, are you sure you can handle her?"

"Max, I swear I can take care of my daughter." Kenny said amused. He knew she wasn't trying to insult him she was just being the overprotective mother that she was probably always going to be thanks to this freak who was threatening her and their child.

"I'm sorry." She whispered afraid she had insulted him.

"Don't be. It's actually cute to see you freaking out over who can take care of our little girl. I never really thought I would see the day when you would be a mom and now I'm happy to see you are an amazing mother." Kenny complimented her as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go lay down."

* * *

He was sitting in his room watching the door with angry eyes. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to get anywhere near Max at the moment. Kenny was staying home from work and that meant there were two guns in the house. He was listening to the audio coming from their house where he had planted the bugs. He was thrilled with the fact that they hadn't been discovered yet and frustrated that they weren't doing him much good.

"One day soon I am going to get my hands on Maxine Stewart and when I do she is going to wish she had never messed with me." The man said as he turned towards the picture on the wall. He picked up a dart and threw it, watching as it landed square in between her eyes. Death would be too good for little miss know it all.

* * *

Jill walked into Jimmy's office and watched him looking over a piece of paper. She could tell that it had something to do with the killer because he was being super cautious and making notes on a pad of paper sitting on the desk. She cleared her throat to let him know she was there. She could tell that she had startled him by the way his head snapped up and his eyes temporarily widened before he seemed relieved to see it was her.

"I was just stopping by to see if you were going to make it home for dinner tonight?" Jill asked walking all the way in and sitting across from Jimmy.

"I honestly don't know Jill. I know it's getting frustrating but this guy needs to be stopped and unfortunately that means I need to work as much as I possibly can to catch him." Jimmy said setting the paper aside.

"What's that?" She asked pointing to it.

"It's a list Kenny faxed over to me. Max thinks there is a connection between someone in her past and the killer." Jimmy said trying to stretch out the cramped muscles in his neck.

"Do you think there is?" Jill asked nervously.

"I honestly don't know what to think anymore." Jimmy said with a sigh. "However no one else has any clue where to start looking for this guy so it just seems like a good idea to at least look into his name possibly being on this list."

"I hope it is. I want this whole thing over with." Jill said crossing her arms in front of her.

"I do to honey." Jimmy said nodding.

* * *

Max woke up and stretched slightly, feeling rested and relaxed. Yawning she climbed out of bed to relieve Kenny of Ella so he could go and get some sleep. She walked into the living room and saw him asleep on the couch with Ella lying wide awake on his belly. She tip toed over and carefully lifted Ella into her arms. She grabbed the afghan blanket and covered Kenny before walking back towards their room so she could keep Ella quiet.

"I want you to know that soon this is all going to be over honey, I mean it." Max whispered to Ella.


	35. Chapter 35

AN – All right here it is… the last chapter. I figured I was just dragging this story along. IF you want who knows maybe I will write a sequel to it, let me know what you all want in a review. But here it is the end of Interesting Revelations.

I think I kind of rushed the end in... however when I was writing it, this is how it came to me. At the end I am going to explain something for everyone... so if you are confused about anything read the end note before asking me for any explanation.

* * *

Ch. 35

Max was playing with Ella in the nursery when she heard footsteps walking around out in the living room. Automatically she assumed Kenny was up and picked Ella up from her play gym. When she heard the loud thud she frowned and headed cautiously towards the door. She was about to lock the door when it flew open and Max's eyes went wide.

"What do you want?" She asked clutching Ella to her chest.

"It's time for me to teach you a lesson Maxine. It's time you learn that all of your actions have consequences." The man said as he pointed a gun at Max. With Ella securely in her arms there was nothing she could do but follow his orders. She bit her bottom lip as she slowly walked into the living room where she saw Kenny unconscious on the floor. His gun was lying inches away from him, almost like he had attempted to take out the guy but was to late.

"Kenny." Max whispered worriedly.

"Set Ella on the couch Maxine." He ordered her as he kicked away Kenny's gun. "Then I want you to handcuff this nice deputy to the table and tie up his legs. Once that's finished we can talk properly about all the things you have done wrong that you must be punished for."

"Where do I know you from?" Max asked setting Ella in between some pillows and then taking the handcuffs and following orders. Her eyes were on the gun that was pointed at Ella. Any wrong move could prove fatal for her daughter.

"Don't worry you'll find out. I expect that I won't be leaving this house alive. It's up to whether those two get to leave it alive or not." He snarled evenly. After seeing Kenny chained up he threw rope at her and told her to tie her own legs up. When that was done he handcuffed her hands behind her and then took a seat on a chair.

"Please just tell me what this is about." Max said knowing full well that there was no way to let anyone know what was going on. She was going to have to find her own way out of this mess and soon.

* * *

Jimmy frowned after reading over the report that had just found it's way to his desk. He had just been informed that one of the names on the list belonged to a man who had been treated in mental ward. The man had escaped two weeks before the killings in Rome had started. Jimmy slammed the report down on his desk and leaned back in his chair.

"Sheriff we finally got an updated photo of our guy." One of his deputies stated coming into his office with a picture in his hand.

Jimmy glanced at the photo and sucked in a deep breath. He had seen this guy around. He had even had coffee with him at one of the diners. The fact was he had been played big time. Jimmy tried not to feel angry about the fact that this man had gotten close to him, but he did. He recalled his injuries and hospital stay, his daughter turning on everyone and Max's kidnapping. Now it was time to finally catch this guy and end it all.

* * *

Max sat with her eyes glued to the man sitting just inches away from her. She knew that panicking would get her nowhere but she couldn't help but feel horrible about the situation that her helpless daughter was in.

"Look I understand you are upset with me. But Ella didn't do anything to you. She is completely innocent in this whole thing, please let her go." Max pleaded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The man said shaking his head simply.

Max heard someone groan and she looked over and saw Kenny coming to. She waited until he realized he couldn't move before clearing her throat to get his attention. When he finally realized that both of them were tied up he struggled more against his binds.

"Welcome to Kenny. This is party time and now it's the time when we finally get a few things straight." The man said laughing.

"Let my wife and daughter go." Kenny said lowly.

"Or what?" He said pointing the gun at Kenny. Sighing he fired the gun and the bullet struck Kenny in the shoulder.

Max screamed as she watched Kenny jerk back and slam further into the table. She struggled against her binds as Ella started screaming at the loud banging noise. Max turned towards Ella and then noticed the man was become increasingly angry. Something was off about him, something was incredibly off.

"Please let me have my hands free and I can calm her down." Max pleaded as he headed towards the screaming infant.

"To late for that. I hate screaming babies." The man said as he pointed the gun at the baby.

Max screamed as a shot rang out and she started crying hysterically. She closed her eyes not wanting to see what she was sue she was going to see. She heard a loud thud and then she passed out completely.

* * *

Max woke up and looked around her. She smiled when she saw Jill and then frowned when she remembered what happened. She tried to sit up but Jill stopped her.

"You need to rest, your little one is going to need a fully recovered mom." Jill said with a smile.

"Ella?" Max asked confused.

"She's gonna be just fine. She was just a little shook up with everything going on but she is unharmed." Jill said with a shrug.

"But I heard the shot." Max said confused.

"The SWAT team sniper for the state troopers shot your suspect." Jill said matt of factly.

"It's over?" Max asked not daring to believe it.

"It's over." Jill nodded.

"Kenny?" Max asked struggling to sit up again.

"He's fine. The bullet was a through and through so they are stitching him up. He was more worried about you." Jill said once again pushing her back down.

"Who was he?" Max asked wanting the full report on everything.

"I'll let Jimmy tell you that when he gets a chance." Jill said smiling.

* * *

A few days later Max and Kenny were sitting a hotel room. They both refused to go back to the house, the place where so much had gone wrong. Ella was fast asleep in the portable crib Jill had brought over for them and they were trying to digest everything.

"So let me get this straight. I never really dated him, he asked me out and I told him no. Then he was admitted to the mental ward for stalking three other women, whom he ended up killing. When did he become obsessed with me?" Max asked confused.

"There was a news story on one of the TV's in the ward, he recognized you and became instantly fascinated with you." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders.

"So how did he escape?" Max asked confused even more.

"No one knows that part. He's dead Maxine, it means there are no more problems. They managed to track down where he was staying and they found a bunch of pictures as well as everything they needed to tie him to all of the murders." Kenny told her.

"And Lana?" Max asked confused.

"She's back home and fine." Kenny said with a smile. "Everything is going to be back to normal."

"Normal as can be." Max laughed. "Now we just need to buy a new house and raise a child."

"Children." Kenny said and he started laughing himself.

End AN - okay here is the deal... Jimmy got suspicious after reading the report on the guy and after seeing who it was... He checked with some people and they remembered seeing him heading towards Max's place. The WAT team was already there just in case they ever found the guy, they were part of the task force.

Any other questions feel free to ask.


End file.
